U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,342,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 545,940 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.21% of U.S. Bancorp worth $152,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 401,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,348,000 after purchasing an additional 56,990 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $20,188,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 276,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,363,000 after acquiring an additional 16,686 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 11.2% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 564,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,231,000 after acquiring an additional 56,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 73.9% in the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 314,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,570,000 after acquiring an additional 133,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $53.63 on Tuesday. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $36.49 and a one year high of $53.93. The company has a market cap of $83.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.02. 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 fifty day moving average of $47.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.15.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on USB. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.02.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.