Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Raises Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $3,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $53.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $47.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.23. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.49 and a 1 year high of $53.93.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.16%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on USB. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.02.

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.