Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 40.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,925,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 841,397 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of U.S. Bancorp worth $152,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $1,887,497,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 5,236.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 33,350,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,556,000 after purchasing an additional 32,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $296,377,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,919,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,683,000 after buying an additional 4,153,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,480,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $505,866,000 after buying an additional 3,672,742 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $63.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.43. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $43.46 and a one year high of $64.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 41.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 51,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. This represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research set a $67.50 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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 note on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.