Empowered Funds LLC Sells 119,059 Shares of U.S. Bancorp $USB

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 39.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 185,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 119,059 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $9,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $1,887,497,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5,236.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 33,350,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,556,000 after acquiring an additional 32,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $296,377,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,919,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,683,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153,080 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,480,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $505,866,000 after purchasing an additional 3,672,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Stephen L. Philipson sold 36,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total value of $2,328,030.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 74,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,729,044.52. This represents a 32.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. The trade was a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

USB stock opened at $62.92 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $43.46 and a fifty-two week high of $64.84. The company has a market capitalization of $97.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.07. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 18.49%.The company had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 41.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on USB. Stephens boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $67.50 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.06.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.