Stiles Financial Services Inc Trims Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Stiles Financial Services Inc cut its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,714 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $49.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.02. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $33.61 and a 1 year high of $51.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.25.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on USB shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.12.

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.