Avestar Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Avestar Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 34.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,598 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE:USB opened at $47.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.50. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $37.81 and a fifty-two week high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on USB. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.21.

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.