Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 35.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 234,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,916 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $11,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB opened at $37.85 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $35.18 and a 1 year high of $53.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.91.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.28%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $3,114,246.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 209,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,837,274.72. This trade represents a 24.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,022,140.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,440,751.55. This represents a 9.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock valued at $10,385,665 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.52.

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.