Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 339 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 339 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $47.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.47 and a 52 week high of $50.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.81 and a 200-day moving average of $42.83. The company has a market cap of $74.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly 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. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 61.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was 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 $6,363,603.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on USB. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Thirteen investment 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.72.

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.