Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 6,935 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 271,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,935 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $12,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in USB. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 16,686 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $261,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $23,020,000. Finally, PGGM Investments purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of USB stock opened at $53.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $83.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.02. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.49 and a 52 week high of $53.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.36.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. 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. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 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 raised their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.02.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.