Huntington National Bank Boosts Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 536,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 33,408 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $24,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of USB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $20,188,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 276,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,363,000 after buying an additional 16,686 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $732,000. Comerica Bank raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 11.2% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 564,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,231,000 after buying an additional 56,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 73.9% in the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 314,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,570,000 after acquiring an additional 133,498 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE USB traded down $0.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.53. 4,502,615 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,321,992. 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 has a 12-month low of $36.21 and a 12-month high of $51.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.58. The company has a market capitalization of $78.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised U.S. Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.12.

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.