Westpac Banking Corp Grows Holdings in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 50.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 128,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,705 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $6,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,887,497,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5,236.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 33,350,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,556,000 after acquiring an additional 32,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,377,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3,451.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,332,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,191,000 after acquiring an additional 4,210,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,919,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,683,000 after acquiring an additional 4,153,080 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $63.69 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.22. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $43.46 and a 12 month high of $64.84. The company has a market cap of $98.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 18.49%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on USB shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Key U.S. Bancorp News

Here are the key news stories impacting U.S. Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI upgraded U.S. Bancorp (USB) from in-line to outperform and set a $72 price target, pointing to meaningful upside from current levels. The Fly article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised U.S. Bancorp (USB) from underweight to neutral and increased its price target to $67.50, citing growth in fee revenue. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted U.S. Bancorp as a strong dividend stock, which may be supporting investor interest in the name. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles compared USB’s year-to-date performance with other financial stocks, suggesting the stock has been performing solidly relative to peers, but these pieces were mostly informational rather than clearly market-moving. MSN article

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.