InvesTrust Takes Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

InvesTrust bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 135,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,516,000. U.S. Bancorp accounts for about 1.8% of InvesTrust’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of USB. Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 48,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,910,000 after buying an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 17.8% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 110,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,399,000 after buying an additional 16,745 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 3,452.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 153,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,074,000 after acquiring an additional 148,751 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 69.9% in the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 44,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,799,000 after acquiring an additional 18,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 9,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Compass Point boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.07.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE USB traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, hitting $48.59. 2,478,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,653,400. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $37.81 and a 1-year high of $53.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $75.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

U.S. Bancorp 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.