Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC Invests $6.41 Million in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 140,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,414,000. U.S. Bancorp accounts for approximately 0.8% of Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on USB. UBS Group increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.12.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 1.3 %

USB traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.21. 7,601,002 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,350,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.36. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $33.61 and a one year high of $51.76.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

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.