Cooke & Bieler LP Cuts Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Cooke & Bieler LP decreased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 97.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 73,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,295,687 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $3,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 493.9% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 67,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 56,444 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 202,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,755,000 after purchasing an additional 10,632 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.45. 12,061,759 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,861,925. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $27.27 and a 52-week high of $45.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.78. The company has a market cap of $63.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 64.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on USB. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.68.

Insider Activity

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

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.