Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,964 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,964 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in USB. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $443,000. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,471,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 96,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,420,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,328,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,164,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796,336 shares during the period. Finally, RW Investment Management LLC lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 49,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on USB shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.22.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $52.49 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.49 and a twelve month high of $52.69. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.05. The company has a market cap of $81.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. 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 3.81%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 61.16%.

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.