U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Sold by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lowered its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 15.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 108,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,626 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $4,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,371,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,051,096,000 after buying an additional 502,776 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% in the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 14,228,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $564,869,000 after purchasing an additional 43,437 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,312,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $528,523,000 after purchasing an additional 94,841 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,376,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,364,000 after purchasing an additional 325,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,478,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,295,000 after purchasing an additional 271,078 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $47.94 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $30.47 and a 52-week high of $50.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.73.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on USB shares. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.71.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp 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.