Ancora Advisors LLC Sells 17,396 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Ancora Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 29.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,396 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of USB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $777,524,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,787,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $802,947,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449,949 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 153.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,949,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $374,573,000 after buying an additional 4,807,662 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 414.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,789,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $276,915,000 after purchasing an additional 4,663,518 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $184,733,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE USB traded up $0.78 during trading on Thursday, hitting $42.08. The company had a trading volume of 8,840,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,093,771. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $35.18 and a one year high of $53.98. The company has a market cap of $65.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.97. The company's fifty day moving average is $40.84 and its 200-day moving average is $46.23.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 5,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $37.32 per share, for a total transaction of $186,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $559,800. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on USB. Oppenheimer increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup cut their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.48.

U.S. Bancorp Profile

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.