Ballast Inc. Makes New $272,000 Investment in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Ballast Inc. bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,583 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.37, for a total transaction of $1,152,904.71. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 144,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,255,515.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other U.S. Bancorp news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total transaction of $895,005.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,880 shares in the company, valued at $6,837,573.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.37, for a total value of $1,152,904.71. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 144,236 shares in the company, valued at $6,255,515.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,265 shares of company stock valued at $2,535,903. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $44.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $69.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $27.27 and a 12 month high of $45.85.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 13.36%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. TheStreet raised U.S. Bancorp from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $35.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.41.

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.