Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Has $6.88 Million Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 5.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 150,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,109 shares during the quarter. U.S. Bancorp accounts for about 1.1% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $6,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.02.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $53.29 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $37.67 and a 1 year high of $53.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.44. The company has a market cap of $83.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.02. 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 (NYSE:USB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.