MCF Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

MCF Advisors LLC lowered its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 18.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,357 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 77,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,527,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 24,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 3,406 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $281,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.5% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 91,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,205,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 9.3% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 327,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,958,000 after buying an additional 27,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:USB traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.74. The stock had a trading volume of 6,601,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,357,724. The company has a market cap of $74.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.84. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $30.47 and a 1-year high of $50.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on USB shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.72.

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.