Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $415,000 Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $415,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth $92,192,000. 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 grew its position 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 valued at $104,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,179 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 16.2% in the first 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 period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $271,806,000 after purchasing an additional 925,073 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $46.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.04. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.47 and a 12 month high of $47.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.32.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is a boost 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 4.35%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 66.23%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on USB. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.18.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.