Assetmark Inc. Sells 37,756 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Assetmark Inc. lessened its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 27.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,756 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $4,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McAdam LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.5% in the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 8,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 12,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $50.80 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $33.61 and a 1-year high of $51.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.12.

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.