Meridian Financial Partners LLC Boosts Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 530 shares during the quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $777,524,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,787,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,947,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449,949 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 414.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,789,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,915,000 after purchasing an additional 4,663,518 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $184,733,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 67,125,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,210,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211,815 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of USB opened at $44.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $69.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.99. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $35.18 and a 12-month high of $53.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on USB shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.67.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $37.32 per share, for a total transaction of $186,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,800. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.