MetLife Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 405,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,461 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $18,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $53.48 on Thursday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.49 and a 1 year high of $53.98. The firm has a market cap of $83.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.16 and a 200 day moving average of $44.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 61.16%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.02.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.