Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases 134,229 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 345,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 134,229 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $15,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 48,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 42,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 47.0% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 7,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 23,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on USB. Stephens increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI raised 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.27.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE USB traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,426,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,221,553. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $37.81 and a 52 week high of $53.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.03.

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

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.