Caprock Group LLC Acquires 1,606 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 46,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,188,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 276,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,363,000 after acquiring an additional 16,686 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 564,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,231,000 after acquiring an additional 56,738 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 314,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,570,000 after acquiring an additional 133,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1,140.5% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 20,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 18,739 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB opened at $50.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.21 and a 200-day moving average of $43.86. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $36.49 and a one year high of $51.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $78.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.