Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 3,025 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. reduced its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,239,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,025 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $59,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of USB. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $420,000. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 56,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 9,773 shares during the period. Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $372,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $282,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $42.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.66. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $37.81 and a 52 week high of $53.98. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $3,114,246.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 209,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,837,274.72. This trade represents a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,022,140.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,440,751.55. This represents a 9.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock worth $10,385,665 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Raymond James raised U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, DA Davidson raised U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.93.

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.