Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 170,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,231 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $7,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 10.5% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 442,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,241,000 after buying an additional 42,197 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 37.3% in the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 6,450 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $6,889,000. West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 21.7% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 6,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $5,950,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of USB opened at $50.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.02. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.49 and a 1 year high of $51.76. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on USB. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.