U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Holdings Boosted by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 11.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 35.7% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 3,491 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,461,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,291,000 after buying an additional 63,230 shares during the last quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.9% during the third quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 12,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 10.0% during the third quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 7,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 62.3% during the third quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on USB. Morgan Stanley raised U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.22.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp 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 sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $49.90 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.02. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.49 and a 12-month high of $51.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was 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 presently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.