Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 1,308,843 Shares of U.S. Bancorp $USB

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 75.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 418,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,308,843 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $21,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of USB. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 13,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% during the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 23,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.0% in the first quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Richmond Investment Services LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 10,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,731.84. The trade was a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

USB opened at $63.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $43.46 and a twelve month high of $64.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.42.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.49% and a return on equity of 13.69%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on USB shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.