U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Bought by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 424,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,120 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $16,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of USB. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $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 buying an additional 74,094 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2,056.5% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 218,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,774,000 after buying an additional 208,528 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,188,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,988,000 after buying an additional 76,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $20,188,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,900. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on USB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.18.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB opened at $45.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.04. 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 has a 1 year low of $30.47 and a 1 year high of $47.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.33.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.