Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 7,273 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 214,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,273 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $8,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,440,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 760.8% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 83,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 74,094 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 2,056.5% in the first 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 position in U.S. Bancorp by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,188,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,988,000 after buying an additional 76,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $20,188,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,900. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.23% 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 two-hundred day moving average of $42.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $30.47 and a twelve month high of $47.31. The company has a market cap of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on USB shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.