West Family Investments Inc. Takes Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total value of $895,005.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,837,573.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,091,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,569,601. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $27.27 and a 1-year high of $45.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Compass Point upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (down from $52.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.02.

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.