Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Position in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 403,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,010 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $21,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of USB. 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 worth $231,191,000 after acquiring an additional 4,210,676 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 22,041,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,176,148,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610,197 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 354.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,855,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227,103 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 146,376,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,810,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 16.4% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,598,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $560,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,631,550 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $54.49 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.58. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $42.21 and a 52 week high of $61.19. The company has a market cap of $84.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.00.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 18.01%.The company had revenue of $7.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 43.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised U.S. Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $57.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $64.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.20.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. The trade was a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total value of $2,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 207,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,813,307. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.