Synovus Financial Corp Purchases 8,272 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,272 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $3,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 48,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 42,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 2,390 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 7,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $51.03 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $79.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.03. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $37.81 and a 12 month high of $53.98.

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 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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on USB shares. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens lifted 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. DA Davidson upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.50.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.