New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,929,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 130,900 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of U.S. Bancorp worth $88,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 93.2% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.87.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $47.84 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $32.39 and a one year high of $50.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.03. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. 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 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.