Who Owns U.S. Bancorp?

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) is one of the country's largest bank holding companies. In early 2024, it was the country's fourth-largest bank by total assets ($663 billion), deposits ($512 billion), and market capitalization ($65 billion). The Minneapolis-based company owns U.S. Bank and provides banking, investment, mortgage, trust, and payment services to consumers, businesses, and institutions.

The bank's heritage dates back to the Abraham Lincoln administration, which approved the national bank charter of its predecessor in 1863. It has grown from those rather humble beginnings over the years by opening new branches and lines of business.

It has also acquired other banks, including its purchase of Union Bank from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MUFG) in 2022 for $8 billion in cash and stock. That deal and a subsequent stock purchase made the large Japanese financial group one of U.S. Bancorp's top shareholders.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is one of many owners of U.S. Bancorp. Here are some of the bank stock's other top shareholders, its board of directors, and how you can invest money into the leading financial institution.

Who owns Bancorp?

U.S. Bancorp is a publicly traded company. Because of that, it doesn't have a single owner; rather, it has many shareholders who own fractional interests in the financial company.

Institutional investors held the majority of its shares in early 2024. Nearly 2,100 institutions held roughly 79.5% of its outstanding shares. Meanwhile, insiders (i.e., corporate officers and members of the board of directors) held only about 0.1% of its outstanding shares.

Who are the largest shareholders?

U.S. Bancorp has many shareholders, including individuals and institutions. While the company has no large individual investors of note with a meaningful stake, it has several significant institutional investors. The top five in early 2024 were:

1. The Vanguard Group

The large asset manager owned nearly 135 million shares (8.6% of U.S. Bancorp's outstanding shares) in early 2024, worth over $5.8 billion. Vanguard funds ranked as the top two mutual fund holders of the bank.

The Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund (NASDAQMUTFUND:VTSAX) owned nearly 49 million shares (3.1% of the total), while the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQMUTFUND:VFIAX) owned 38 million shares (2.4%).

It also managed two top ten fund holders: Vanguard/Windsor II (NASDAQMUTFUND:VWNFX), with 13.9 million shares, or 0.9% of the total, and Vanguard Index-Value Index Fund (NASDAQMUTFUND:VVIAX), which held 12.2 million shares, or 0.8% of the bank's outstanding shares.

2. Blackrock

Leading asset manager Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) owned more than 108 million shares of U.S. Bancorp stock (7% of shares outstanding), worth about $4.5 billion. The company manages the popular iShares exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform, several of which hold shares of the bank stock. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT:IVV) had the most shares, at 16.2 million (1% of shares outstanding).

3. JPMorgan Chase

The large bank's asset management arm, JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Asset Management, held nearly 70 million shares (4.5%) worth over $2.9 billion. The bank holds shares across several mutual funds it manages for clients. The largest holder was the JP Morgan Equity Income Fund (NASDAQMUTFUND:OIEIX), with over 17 million shares (1.1%).

4. MUFG Bank

Japan's largest bank owned over 68 million shares (4.4% of its shares outstanding) worth over $2.8 billion. It received 14 million shares when U.S. Bancorp acquired MUFG Union Bank's core regional banking franchise in 2022. The Japanese financial institution subsequently invested another $936 million in shares of U.S. Bancorp in August 2023 to help the bank repay some of the debt owed as part of the acquisition.

5. State Street Corporation

The large asset manager held about 66 million shares (4.2% of shares outstanding) worth over $2.7 billion. State Street (NYSE:STT) manages several popular ETFs under the SPDR banner, including two of the top 10 fund holders: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT:SPY) and the Select Sector SPDR Fund-Financial (NYSEMKT:XLF). The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust held 18.3 million shares (1%), while the Select Sector SPDR Fund-Financial held 10.4 million shares (0.7%).

Who is on the Board of Directors for Bancorp?

A board of directors helps oversee a company on behalf of its shareholders. U.S. Bancorp has a diverse board filled with seasoned executives with complementary expertise. As of early 2024, U.S. Bancorp's 13 board members were:

• Warner Baxter has been on the board since December 2015. He previously served as the chairman and CEO of regulated electric and gas utility Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE). As of early 2024, he owned nearly 33,000 shares.
• Dorothy Bridges has been a board member since October 2018. She's the CEO of the non-profit Metropolitan Economic Development Association. Before that, she served as the CEO of City First Bank and was the senior vice president of public affairs, outreach, and community development of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. She owns about 21,500 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock.
• Elizabeth Buse has been on the board since June 2018. She is the former CEO of U.K. global mobile banking and payment company Monitise and previously worked for Visa (NYSE:V). She owns nearly 23,00 shares.
• Andrew Cecere has been a member of the board since 2017. He's currently the chairman, president, and CEO of U.S. Bancorp. He's held those positions since April 2018. Mr. Cecere has extensive experience with the company, including serving as the chief operating officer (COO) and chief financial officer (CFO). He owned nearly 1.6 million shares in early 2024.

• Alan Colberg has been on the board since January 2023. He's the former president and CEO of specialty insurance company Assurant (NYSE:AIZ). He owned about 16,500 shares.
• Kimberly Ellison-Taylor has been a board member since January 2021. She is the founder and CEO of consulting firm KET Solutions. She also has extensive experience as an executive at Oracle (NYSE:ORCL). She owns over 12,000 shares.
• Kimberly Harris has been a board member since October 2014. She's the former president and CEO of Puget Energy. She owns nearly 42,000 shares.
• Roland Hernandez has been on the board since January 2012. He's the founder and CEO of Hernandez Media Ventures, a private company focused on acquiring and managing media assets. Hernandez is the former chairman and CEO of Spanish-language TV and entertainment company Telemundo. He owns over 74,000 shares of the bank.
• Richard McKenney has been on the board since October 2017. He's the president and CEO of the benefits company Unum Group (NYSE:UNMA). He owns over 67,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp.
• Yusuf Mehdi has been on the board since June 2018. He's currently the executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). He owns nearly 23,000 shares.
• Loretta Reynolds has been a board member since October 2022. She's the founder and CEO of LEReynolds Group, a consulting firm that provides IT and strategic business intelligence services. Before that, Reynolds served as a distinguished member of the U.S. Marine Corps, ascending to the rank of lieutenant general. (She's only the third woman promoted to that rank in Marine Corps history.) She owns over 7,000 shares of the bank.
• John Wiehoff has been on the board since January 2020. He's the retired chairman and CEO of transportation company C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW). He owns nearly 31,000 shares of the bank.
• Scott Wine has been a board member since July 2014. He's the CEO of CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNHI), a leader in producing capital goods. He holds about 102,500 shares of U.S. Bancorp.

How to invest in Bancorp

Anyone with a brokerage account can invest in the publicly traded U.S. Bancorp. If you don't have a brokerage account yet, they're easy to open. Here's a list of the top-rated brokerage and stock trading accounts. Make sure you research the brokers to find the best one for you.

Related investing topics

Opening and funding a brokerage account is the first step to investing in stocks. Additional steps you'll need to take include:

• Figure out your budget: You'll want to decide how much you want to invest in U.S. Bancorp stock. The Motley Fool investing philosophy recommends building a diversified portfolio with at least 25 stocks. So, if you have $10,000 you want to invest, you'd allocate about $400 equally across 25 stocks, including U.S. Bancorp.
• Do your research: It's imperative to thoroughly research a company before you buy shares. You should check out its competitors, learn about its balance sheet, and investigate its profitability. Specific to U.S. Bancorp, it's essential that you have a thorough understanding of how to invest in bank stocks.
• Fill out your order page: When you're ready to buy shares, you'll open the order page at your brokerage account and fill out all the relevant information, including:
  • The number of shares you want to buy (or the amount you want to invest in fractional shares)
  • The correct stock ticker (USB for U.S. Bancorp)
  • The order type (market or limit order)

Make sure to double-check your order page before submitting your trade. When you're ready, click submit to become a shareholder of U.S. Bancorp.

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