Lakeside Advisors INC. Cuts Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Lakeside Advisors INC. reduced its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 826 shares during the quarter. U.S. Bancorp comprises about 3.0% of Lakeside Advisors INC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $4,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,175 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,903,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046,522 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 88.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,331,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,179 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 16.2% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,941,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,284,000 after acquiring an additional 967,143 shares during the period. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $43,619,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on USB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $47.84 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $32.39 and a twelve month high of $50.47. The firm has a market cap of $74.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.23 and a 200-day moving average of $43.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.