King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 199,340 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 455,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 199,340 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $18,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in USB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 135,371,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,051,096,000 after acquiring an additional 502,776 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 14,228,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $564,869,000 after purchasing an additional 43,437 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,312,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,523,000 after purchasing an additional 94,841 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,478,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,295,000 after purchasing an additional 271,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,921,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,800,000 after buying an additional 23,826 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB opened at $46.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.39 and a 200-day moving average of $42.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock 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. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $30.47 and a twelve month high of $47.31.

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

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is 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 presently 66.23%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.99 per share, with a total value of $449,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,900. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.