AE Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 403,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,037 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $16,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $5,440,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 760.8% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 83,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 74,094 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 2,056.5% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 218,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,774,000 after acquiring an additional 208,528 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,188,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,988,000 after acquiring an additional 76,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $20,188,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $46.01 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.32. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $30.47 and a one year high of $47.31.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,900. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.18.

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.