U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Insider Jodi L. Richard Sells 25,000 Shares

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $48.53 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $30.47 and a one year high of $50.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.61 and its 200-day moving average is $42.77.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,983 shares during the period. &PARTNERS acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $281,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,340,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Strategic Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 59,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,643,000 after acquiring an additional 11,407 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on USB shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Twelve 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.71.

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.