Wedbush Securities Inc. Has $2.77 Million Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Wedbush Securities Inc. cut its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,764 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of USB opened at $36.78 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.91. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $35.74 and a 12-month high of $53.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 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 Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. DA Davidson raised U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,022,140.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,127 shares in the company, valued at $9,440,751.55. This trade represents a 9.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of the business’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 transaction of $4,821,579.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,230,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,132,431. This represents a 7.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 company insiders.

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.