Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Takes Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 20,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $971,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 16.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 532,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,401,000 after buying an additional 76,914 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,893 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the third quarter worth $289,000. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.2% during the third quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 8,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of USB stock opened at $47.89 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $37.81 and a 1 year high of $53.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.59, for a total value of $1,427,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,749,006.10. This trade represents a 23.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 value of $1,022,140.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,127 shares in the company, valued at $9,440,751.55. The trade was a 9.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 219,812 shares of company stock valued at $10,385,665. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on USB. Raymond James upgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued 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 target price of $54.21.

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.