U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Acquired by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,973 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $4,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 17.7% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 64,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,560,000 after buying an additional 9,704 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 15,531 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 57,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,301,000 after acquiring an additional 30,824 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $1,170,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.5% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 234,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,292,000 after purchasing an additional 14,293 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on USB. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. DA Davidson increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.18.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:USB opened at $46.01 on Friday. 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. 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 current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.31.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 4.35%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

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

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.