U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Position Lessened by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of USB. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 24,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 10,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 139.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 285,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,685,000 after purchasing an additional 166,168 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 212.8% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 29,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,117 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB traded up $0.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,110,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,859,075. The stock has a market cap of $76.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.20 and a 200-day moving average of $46.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $37.81 and a one year high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly 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. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.08.

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.