Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,375 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. McAdam LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 2.5% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 8,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 15.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.1% during the third quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 12,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. 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 note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $52.48 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $36.49 and a one year high of $52.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.03. The company has a market cap of $81.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership 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.