U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 187,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,725 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $7,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,175 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $92,192,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,903,000 after purchasing an additional 2,046,522 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 88.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $310,284,000 after buying an additional 967,143 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:USB opened at $44.25 on Thursday. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $30.47 and a 12-month high of $47.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.43. The firm has a market cap of $69.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase 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 Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.99 per share, with a total value of $449,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,900. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on USB shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.65.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.