U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Sold by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,786 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:USB opened at $49.16 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.47 and a 52 week high of $50.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 66.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.71.

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.