First PREMIER Bank Raises Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,442 shares during the quarter. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $3,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, STAR Financial Bank lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 7,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.3 %

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $44.41 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $30.47 and a one year high of $47.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.43 and its 200 day moving average is $42.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.