Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Has $787,000 Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 681 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in USB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $20,188,000. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 200.7% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 18,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 12,197 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 276,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,363,000 after purchasing an additional 16,686 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 90.3% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 862,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,676,000 after purchasing an additional 409,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth $732,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the 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 owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $48.62 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $30.47 and a twelve month high of $50.47. The stock has a market cap of $75.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.72.

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.