Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. cut its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 141,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,111 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $6,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of USB. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 15.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 10.5% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 8,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $263,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 35.7% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 3,491 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 11.3% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE USB opened at $40.87 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $37.81 and a 12-month high of $53.98. The company has a market capitalization of $63.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.79.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on USB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.25, for a total transaction of $4,821,579.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,230,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,132,431. This represents a 7.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,022,140.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,127 shares in the company, valued at $9,440,751.55. The trade was a 9.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock valued at $10,385,665 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.