ING Groep NV Sells 114,358 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

ING Groep NV trimmed its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 59.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 114,358 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $3,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on USB. Stephens raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised U.S. Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.90. 13,570,863 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,047,181. 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 fifty-two week low of $36.49 and a fifty-two week high of $51.76. The company has a market cap of $77.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average is $46.99 and its 200 day moving average is $43.71.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last released 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. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio 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 buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.