ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 37,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,191 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $40,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of USB stock opened at $48.40 on Tuesday. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $37.81 and a twelve month high of $53.98. The stock has a market cap of $75.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted 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 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.21.

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.