Cigna Investments Inc. New Has $735,000 Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Cigna Investments Inc. New trimmed its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 332 shares during the period. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on USB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $47.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $74.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.23 and a 200-day moving average of $43.05. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $32.39 and a 1-year high of $50.47.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

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

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.