Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 4,807,662 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 153.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,949,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,807,662 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.51% of U.S. Bancorp worth $374,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 67,282,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,110,115,000 after purchasing an additional 819,805 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,913,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,922,784,000 after buying an additional 15,746,852 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 3.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,328,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,164,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,086,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,616,000 after acquiring an additional 599,852 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% in the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 14,228,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,869,000 after acquiring an additional 43,437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $51.03. The stock had a trading volume of 6,426,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,221,553. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $37.81 and a 12 month high of $53.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day moving average is $49.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on USB shares. Compass Point lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.27.

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.