Golden State Equity Partners Acquires New Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Golden State Equity Partners acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 11,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 348,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,578,000 after buying an additional 83,244 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 86.6% in the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 44,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,689 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 50,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 11,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $773,000. Institutional investors own 75.40% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB stock traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $35.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,470,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,022,296. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.15 and a 200 day moving average of $35.34. The stock has a market cap of $54.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $27.27 and a 12-month high of $49.95.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.40%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on USB shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, August 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.33.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Timothy A. Welsh sold 13,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total transaction of $549,738.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 119,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,737,317.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other U.S. Bancorp news, CFO Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,637,932. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy A. Welsh sold 13,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total transaction of $549,738.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,737,317.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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 in Corporate and Commercial Banking, Consumer and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Investment Services, Payment Services, and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.