U.S. Bancorp $USB Shares Sold by Alps Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Alps Advisors Inc. reduced its U.S. Bancorp stake by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 29,734 shares and ending with 494,795 shares valued at about $26.4 million.
• Two U.S. Bancorp insiders also sold shares recently: EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares and insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares, both at prices in the mid-to-high $50s.
• U.S. Bancorp beat earnings expectations last quarter, reporting EPS of $1.18 versus $1.14 expected, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $61.20.

Alps Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 494,795 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,734 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $26,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 77.8% during the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC now owns 608 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. This represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total transaction of $2,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 207,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,813,307. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 1.5%

USB opened at $57.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.50. The company has a market cap of $89.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.97. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $42.55 and a 1 year high of $61.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $7.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 13.55%. The company's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on USB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $57.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.20.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

U.S. Bancorp NYSE: USB is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.

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