U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Acquired by Bill Few Associates Inc.

Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2,056.5% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 218,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,774,000 after buying an additional 208,528 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,188,000. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 200.7% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 18,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 12,197 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 276,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,363,000 after purchasing an additional 16,686 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 90.3% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 862,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,676,000 after buying an additional 409,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USB opened at $47.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $30.47 and a 52-week high of $48.08.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $44.99 per share, with a total value of $449,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $449,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.14.

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.