Kowal Investment Group LLC Trims Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Kowal Investment Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,522 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, STAR Financial Bank raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 7,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on USB. UBS Group increased 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.18.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $46.01 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $30.47 and a 52-week high of $47.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.31. The stock 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. 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 (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.