Swedbank AB Purchases 26,281 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 541,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,281 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $24,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.14.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of USB opened at $49.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $30.47 and a 12-month high of $50.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.