Associated Banc Corp Sells 3,404 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,404 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $7,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in USB. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 8,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 15.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB traded up $1.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $53.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 283,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,316,837. The company has a market cap of $83.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.06. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.49 and a 1 year high of $53.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy 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 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.16%.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Bancorp 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on USB. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Stephens boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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 note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.02.

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.