Avanza Fonder AB Has $5.62 Million Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Avanza Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,904 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $5,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Andra AP fonden grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 175.6% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 458,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,743,000 after purchasing an additional 292,100 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 698.5% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 243,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,749,000 after buying an additional 212,655 shares during the period. Natixis grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 86.1% during the second quarter. Natixis now owns 931,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,146,000 after buying an additional 431,041 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 192.0% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,994,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,752,000 after buying an additional 1,311,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 6.6% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 214,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,386,000 after acquiring an additional 13,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on USB. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $52.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total value of $6,508,221.30. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,360,414 shares in the company, valued at $63,041,584.76. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $1,260,955.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 226,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. This represents a 10.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $54.94 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.42 and its 200-day moving average is $47.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $35.18 and a 52 week high of $55.15. The company has a market capitalization of $85.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.10.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.60%.

U.S. Bancorp 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.