Claro Advisors LLC Buys 1,230 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on USB. Barclays upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson boosted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.22.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $49.90 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $36.49 and a one year high of $51.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $77.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.71.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion during 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%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade 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 hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

U.S. Bancorp 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.