Balentine LLC Decreases Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Balentine LLC lowered its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 473 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

USB opened at $41.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.30. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $29.33 and a 1 year high of $45.85. The stock has a market cap of $64.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down previously from $52.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Compass Point upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.02.

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.