Sabal Trust CO Lowers Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Sabal Trust CO decreased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 97.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 478,802 shares during the period. Sabal Trust CO's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake 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. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on USB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.72.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of USB stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.79. 15,749,262 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,245,166. The stock has a market cap of $71.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $35.18 and a fifty-two week high of $53.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.58.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 15.70%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.50%.

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.