Palisade Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,876 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the quarter. U.S. Bancorp makes up 1.2% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $11,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 49,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,131,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.0% during the third quarter. Perkins Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 6,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 16,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:USB traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.69. The company had a trading volume of 8,555,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,522,138. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $28.53 and a 12-month high of $45.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.64. The company has a market cap of $65.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total value of $895,005.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,837,573.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on USB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down from $52.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, HSBC raised U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.02.

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.