U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 6.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 183,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,631 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $7,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB opened at $46.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.39 and its 200-day moving average is $42.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.04. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $30.47 and a fifty-two week high of $47.31.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 66.23%.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.99 per share, with a total value of $449,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,900. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.18.

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.