Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 1,199 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of USB. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 130,768.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,273,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,628,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,227,825 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Bank LTD. boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 54.1% in the third quarter. Mufg Bank LTD. now owns 68,374,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,260,450,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 266.6% in the third quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,467,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $775,842,000 after acquiring an additional 17,066,479 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $644,436,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 5.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,513,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,513,127,000 after acquiring an additional 6,479,642 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Timothy A. Welsh sold 12,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $487,993.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 106,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,616.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Timothy A. Welsh sold 12,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $487,993.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 106,958 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,616.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total value of $895,005.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 164,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,837,573.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,265 shares of company stock valued at $2,535,903 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on USB shares. Barclays raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stephens downgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

USB stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.58. 6,742,538 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,503,623. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.56. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $27.27 and a 52-week high of $45.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.28. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 13.36%. The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 59.76%.

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.