U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Sold by Weaver Capital Management LLC

Weaver Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,496 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of USB opened at $48.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.73. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $30.47 and a one year high of $50.47. The company has a market capitalization of $74.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.