U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,342,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 545,940 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $152,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of USB. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 723.7% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,864,000 after buying an additional 2,821,642 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of 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. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,328,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,164,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1,554.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,503,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,743 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of USB opened at $53.63 on Tuesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.49 and a 12 month high of $53.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.15. 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 stock has a market cap of $83.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly 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 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Stephens upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.02.

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.