Avanza Fonder AB Makes New Investment in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 110,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,307,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,198,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,495,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 180,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,757,000 after acquiring an additional 7,481 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,170,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 57,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,301,000 after acquiring an additional 30,824 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on USB. Raymond James upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.21.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,819,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,864,763. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $37.81 and a fifty-two week high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.