Vestor Capital LLC Decreases Stake in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Vestor Capital LLC lessened its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 94.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,136 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth $25,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 446.2% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 846.5% in the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB opened at $47.83 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $74.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.10. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $53.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.37.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on USB shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $63,041,584.76. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total value of $1,260,955.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 226,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. The trade was a 10.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.