Confluence Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,969,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,077 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of U.S. Bancorp worth $90,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of USB. McAdam LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 8,503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% in the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.1% during the third quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 12,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 65,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE USB traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,601,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,350,330. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $33.61 and a 12-month high of $51.76. The firm has a market cap of $78.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50 day moving average is $46.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is 61.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson boosted their target price 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.12.

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.