Westpac Banking Corp Increases Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $36.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.41. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $35.74 and a one year high of $53.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.77%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $3,114,246.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 209,482 shares in the company, valued at $9,837,274.72. This represents a 24.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.25, for a total transaction of $4,821,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,230,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,132,431. The trade was a 7.66 % 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 valued at $10,385,665 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on USB. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wolfe Research raised U.S. Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $43.50 target price (down from $51.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.89.

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.