Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 350 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $3,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,188,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 276,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,363,000 after acquiring an additional 16,686 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $732,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 11.2% in the 1st 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 holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 73.9% in the 2nd 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. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

U.S. Bancorp stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $51.01. The stock had a trading volume of 285,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,304,051. The company has a market capitalization of $79.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.58. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $36.21 and a one year high of $51.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on USB shares. Evercore ISI lifted 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 research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.12.

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.