International Assets Investment Management LLC Takes $1.02 Million Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 21,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,018,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE USB opened at $48.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.41. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $37.81 and a one year high of $53.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’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 value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.07.

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.