Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Reduces Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,273 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $8,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 approximately $449,900. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.18.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE USB opened at $46.01 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $30.47 and a fifty-two week high of $47.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.39 and a 200-day moving average of $42.31. The stock has a market cap of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.