Kovack Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,456 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 723.7% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,864,000 after buying an additional 2,821,642 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,175 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,903,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046,522 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,554.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,503,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,941,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,284,000 after purchasing an additional 967,143 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $50.32 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $36.21 and a fifty-two week high of $51.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.58. 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 $78.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 61.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.12.

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.