U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Sold by Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 681 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.72.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $48.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $30.47 and a 1-year high of $50.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.77.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.