Griffin Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 497 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 10,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE USB opened at $47.00 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.47 and a 12 month high of $48.08. The stock has a market cap of $73.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on USB shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.14.

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.