Sentry Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,021 U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 5,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 86.1% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $44.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.50. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $35.18 and a 1 year high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.06. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.50%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $37.32 per share, with a total value of $186,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,800. The trade was a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on USB shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.89.

U.S. Bancorp Profile

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities, and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates through Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking; Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.