Royal Fund Management LLC Boosts Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Royal Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 95.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,539 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $7,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,371,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,051,096,000 after acquiring an additional 502,776 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 14,228,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $564,869,000 after purchasing an additional 43,437 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,312,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,523,000 after buying an additional 94,841 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,376,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,364,000 after buying an additional 325,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,478,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,295,000 after buying an additional 271,078 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on USB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price 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. Citigroup raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.65.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

U.S. Bancorp stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.54. 474,334 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,220,803. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $30.47 and a 52-week high of $47.31. The firm has a market cap of $69.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $44.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.46.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 4.49%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp 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.