Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 850,763 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,937,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 850,763 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.18% of U.S. Bancorp worth $1,618,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,022,140.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,127 shares in the company, valued at $9,440,751.55. This trade represents a 9.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.25, for a total transaction of $4,821,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,230,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,132,431. This represents a 7.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 219,812 shares of company stock valued at $10,385,665. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on USB shares. DA Davidson raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.21.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of USB stock opened at $41.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $37.81 and a 52-week high of $53.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.56.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 52.77%.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.