Meridian Financial Partners LLC Lowers Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Meridian Financial Partners LLC reduced its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 959 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE USB opened at $49.08 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.68. The stock has a market cap of $76.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $37.81 and a 52-week high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 61.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on USB. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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 through Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking; Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.