Premier Fund Managers Ltd Makes New Investment in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 151,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,889,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 723.7% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,864,000 after buying an additional 2,821,642 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,438.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,263,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,175 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 313.8% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,698,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,903,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046,522 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1,554.3% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,503,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,619,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $50.41 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.86. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.49 and a 12-month high of $51.76. The firm has a market cap of $78.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. On average, analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.22.

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.