LPL Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,431,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 252,268 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $116,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE USB opened at $43.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.63. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $37.81 and a 12 month high of $53.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02.

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

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on USB. Piper Sandler raised U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.48.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,022,140.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,127 shares in the company, valued at $9,440,751.55. This trade represents a 9.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $3,114,246.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 209,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,837,274.72. This trade represents a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock worth $10,385,665 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is 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.