Commerce Bank Raises Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 10.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 442,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,197 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $20,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 401,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,348,000 after buying an additional 56,990 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $20,188,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% during the first 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. Comerica Bank grew its holdings 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 worth $25,231,000 after acquiring an additional 56,738 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc raised its position 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of USB stock opened at $50.74 on Thursday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.49 and a 1-year high of $51.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $79.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.33 and a 200-day moving average of $43.91.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. 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 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.22.

Insider Activity

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

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.