Carret Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Carret Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,513,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,513,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,479,642 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Bank LTD. grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 54.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,470,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,238,765,000 after acquiring an additional 674,583 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,120,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,028,859,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610,004 shares during the period. Finally, Aristotle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 266.6% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 1.6 %

USB stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.61. The stock had a trading volume of 6,548,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,786,709. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $27.27 and a 1-year high of $45.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $64.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 64.90%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total value of $895,005.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,837,573.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total value of $895,005.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,837,573.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.37, for a total transaction of $1,152,904.71. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 144,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,255,515.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on USB shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Compass Point raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.14.

U.S. Bancorp 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.