FORA Capital LLC Invests $3.70 Million in U.S. Bancorp $USB

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 81,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,700,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 323.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 36,863 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 10.3% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 77,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,262,000 after purchasing an additional 7,188 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $802,000. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 30,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,537,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $360,410,000 after buying an additional 22,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $53.41 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $35.18 and a 52 week high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.11. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $7.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total value of $1,260,955.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 226,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. This represents a 10.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total value of $6,508,221.30. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,360,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,041,584.76. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on USB. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 20th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.50 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.16.

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.