Bank of Montreal Can Sells 94,008 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,888,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 94,008 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.25% of U.S. Bancorp worth $157,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 15,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Team Hewins LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $491,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE USB traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $45.90. 201,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,337,557. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $30.47 and a 1-year high of $47.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $71.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 4.36%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on USB shares. UBS Group boosted their target price 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 cut their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Thirteen research 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.18.

Insider Activity

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

About U.S. Bancorp

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.