Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 2,038,996 Shares of U.S. Bancorp $USB

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 143,269,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,038,996 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of U.S. Bancorp worth $6,482,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 846.5% during the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 118.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $45.95 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $35.18 and a fifty-two week high of $53.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $71.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.69 and a 200 day moving average of $46.21.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.11. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 16.89%.The business had revenue of $7.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 47.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $52.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $6,508,221.30. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,360,414 shares in the company, valued at $63,041,584.76. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $1,260,955.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 226,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. This represents a 10.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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.