Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $5.12 Million in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 107,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,119,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.4% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP now owns 8,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 20,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 12,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $42.23 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $37.81 and a 1 year high of $53.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.63 and its 200-day moving average is $47.73.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 52.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on USB shares. Raymond James upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.98.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $3,114,246.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 209,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,837,274.72. This trade represents a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.25, for a total transaction of $4,821,579.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,230,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,132,431. This trade represents a 7.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock valued at $10,385,665. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.