Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $30.74 Million Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 672,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,906 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $30,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,853,000 after buying an additional 2,116,175 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,903,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046,522 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 88.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,331,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,179 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,941,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,284,000 after purchasing an additional 967,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,846,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,806,000 after purchasing an additional 925,073 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of USB opened at $47.93 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.69. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $30.47 and a one year high of $50.47. The company has a market capitalization of $74.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 3.32 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.71.

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.