151,520 Shares in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Purchased by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 151,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,889,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.22.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

USB traded up $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.55. 1,743,789 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,324,925. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.86. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.49 and a twelve month high of $51.76. The stock has a market cap of $78.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.02.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.