Hantz Financial Services Inc. Reduces Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 132,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,054 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $6,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of USB. FMR LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 32.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,913,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,922,784,000 after buying an additional 15,746,852 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 723.7% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,864,000 after buying an additional 2,821,642 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,853,000 after buying an additional 2,116,175 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,903,000 after buying an additional 2,046,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 109.7% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 3,531,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,491,000 after buying an additional 1,847,000 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USB opened at $53.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.44. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $37.67 and a 52-week high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 61.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on USB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.02.

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.