Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 73,846 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 43.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,846 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $4,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of USB. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 533,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Arrien Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $282,000. 1ST Source Bank increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 32,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 22,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 32,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $42.64 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.52 and its 200-day moving average is $47.69. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $37.81 and a 1 year high of $53.98.

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

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $3,114,246.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 209,482 shares in the company, valued at $9,837,274.72. This represents a 24.05 % 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, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.25, for a total transaction of $4,821,579.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,230,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,132,431. This represents a 7.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock valued at $10,385,665. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on USB. Compass Point upped their target price 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.93.

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.