U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Acquired by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 44.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,073 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

USB opened at $53.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $83.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.23. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $36.49 and a fifty-two week high of $53.93.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 3.73%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on USB shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays boosted 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. Stephens raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.02.

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.