Howe & Rusling Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Howe & Rusling Inc. reduced its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 47.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 83,592 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $4,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 44.6% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position 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 during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 170.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 153,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,883,000 after purchasing an additional 97,060 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 44.9% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 3,396 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.3% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 652,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,280,000 after buying an additional 38,547 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE USB opened at $50.41 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $47.21 and its 200 day moving average is $43.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization 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 has a twelve month low of $36.49 and a twelve month high of $51.76.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 approved a share buyback 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 purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on USB shares. Barclays boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.22.

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.