Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV Purchases New Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 25,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,234,000. U.S. Bancorp comprises 1.1% of Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of USB. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $3,114,246.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 209,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,837,274.72. This represents a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.25, for a total transaction of $4,821,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,230,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,132,431. The trade was a 7.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock valued at $10,385,665. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America cut their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.21.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of USB opened at $41.75 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $37.81 and a 1-year high of $53.98. The company has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.56.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.77%.

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.