Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Position in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,270 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $8,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 446.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 216.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of USB opened at $55.53 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $35.18 and a one year high of $56.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $86.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.07.

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

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,360,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,041,584.76. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $1,260,955.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 226,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. This trade represents a 10.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on USB shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.30.

U.S. Bancorp Profile

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.