Huntington National Bank Purchases 241,278 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 777,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 241,278 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $37,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $777,524,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 153.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,949,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,807,662 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $184,733,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,789,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,381,443,000 after buying an additional 2,460,845 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $111,274,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on USB shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Compass Point boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.21.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $3,114,246.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 209,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,837,274.72. The trade was a 24.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,230,316 shares in the company, valued at $58,132,431. This trade represents a 7.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 219,812 shares of company stock worth $10,385,665 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $41.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.56. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $37.81 and a 1 year high of $53.98. The company has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 4.79%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

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.