Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Sells 973,919 Shares of U.S. Bancorp $USB

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab lessened its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 77.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 973,919 shares during the quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $14,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, NFSG Corp purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting U.S. Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI upgraded U.S. Bancorp (USB) from in-line to outperform and set a $72 price target, pointing to meaningful upside from current levels. The Fly article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised U.S. Bancorp (USB) from underweight to neutral and increased its price target to $67.50, citing growth in fee revenue. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted U.S. Bancorp as a strong dividend stock, which may be supporting investor interest in the name. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles compared USB’s year-to-date performance with other financial stocks, suggesting the stock has been performing solidly relative to peers, but these pieces were mostly informational rather than clearly market-moving. MSN article

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

USB stock opened at $63.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $98.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. 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 has a one year low of $43.46 and a one year high of $64.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $58.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.22.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.07. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.49% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The company had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on USB shares. Evercore upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.