LS Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

LS Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McAdam LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.5% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 8,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.1% during the third quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 12,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on USB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.12.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $49.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $77.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.02. 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 $51.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.25.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company 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.