NorthRock Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

NorthRock Partners LLC lowered its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on USB. Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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 company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.12.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:USB opened at $47.62 on Wednesday. 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 $33.61 and a one year high of $50.47. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.19. The stock has a market cap of $74.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.