Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 83,850 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,739,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 83,850 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.11% of U.S. Bancorp worth $69,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 502,776 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its stake in 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 valued at $564,869,000 after acquiring an additional 43,437 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 94,841 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,478,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,295,000 after acquiring an additional 271,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 23,826 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 1.0 %

USB opened at $46.01 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.39 and a 200-day moving average of $42.31. 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. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $30.47 and a fifty-two week high of $47.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given 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 yield of 4.35%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp announced 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 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on USB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.