U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of USB. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% in the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% in the second quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, STAR Financial Bank boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% in the second quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 7,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 10,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.99 per share, with a total value of $449,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $449,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Thirteen equities research 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, U.S. Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.18.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $46.01 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.47 and a 12 month high of $47.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $71.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.32.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership 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 $0.50 dividend. 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 currently 66.23%.

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.