First Trust Advisors LP Sells 12,779 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,305,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,779 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.21% of U.S. Bancorp worth $158,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 12,479 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,640,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,477,000 after acquiring an additional 111,373 shares during the period. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $1,206,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 414.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,789,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $276,915,000 after purchasing an additional 4,663,518 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 96,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:USB traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $40.04. 9,477,357 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,686,700. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.65. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $35.18 and a 12-month high of $53.98. The stock has a market cap of $62.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 5,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $37.32 per share, for a total transaction of $186,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $559,800. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,022,140.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,440,751.55. This represents a 9.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 219,812 shares of company stock valued at $10,385,665 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on USB shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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 research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.66.

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.