Sigma Planning Corp Acquires 792 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth $31,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB opened at $49.90 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.02. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.49 and a 52 week high of $51.76.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released 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. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on USB. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.22.

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.