Freedom Financial Partners LLC Invests $374,000 in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Freedom Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $374,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of USB. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.32 per share, with a total value of $186,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $559,800. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.76. 7,647,666 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,074,275. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $41.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.40. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $53.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.99.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on USB shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.67.

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.