Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 1,801 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,801 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $4,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $6,051,096,000 after purchasing an additional 502,776 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers grew its position 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 buying an additional 43,437 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,376,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,364,000 after acquiring an additional 325,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,478,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,295,000 after acquiring an additional 271,078 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.71.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB opened at $48.53 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.61 and a 200 day moving average of $42.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.47 and a 12 month high of $50.47. The company has a market capitalization of $75.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.