U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Position Lessened by AMG National Trust Bank

AMG National Trust Bank reduced its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,523 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $4,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Davis Selected Advisers raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 14,228,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $564,869,000 after purchasing an additional 43,437 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,312,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,523,000 after buying an additional 94,841 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,376,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,364,000 after buying an additional 325,374 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,852,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $478,118,000 after acquiring an additional 373,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,962,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,407,000 after purchasing an additional 20,928 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB opened at $49.90 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.73. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $36.49 and a 52-week high of $51.76. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $77.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. 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 payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen equities research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.22.

U.S. Bancorp 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.