U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont cut its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 72,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,691 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $3,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of USB. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 49.0% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,983 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 16,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 166,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,462,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 9,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 31,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB opened at $49.98 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $30.47 and a fifty-two week high of $50.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.63. The company has a market cap of $77.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 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 permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on USB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.34.

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.