Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. Sells 60,400 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 53.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 52,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 60,400 shares during the quarter. U.S. Bancorp comprises 0.8% of Wittenberg Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of USB. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 723.7% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821,642 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116,175 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,903,000 after purchasing an additional 2,046,522 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,328,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,164,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1,554.3% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,503,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $52.49 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.49 and a 1-year high of $52.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.06.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on USB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.22.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.