Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 323.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after buying an additional 36,863 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $228,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 47,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,190,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 23,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:USB opened at $47.85 on Thursday. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $53.98. The company has a market capitalization of $74.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $1,260,955.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 226,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. The trade was a 10.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $6,508,221.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,360,414 shares in the company, valued at $63,041,584.76. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp 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.