U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Bought by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 109.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,531,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,847,000 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $161,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB opened at $53.66 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $47.99 and its 200-day moving average is $44.23. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.49 and a 12 month high of $53.93. The firm has a market cap of $83.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.02. 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 (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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. 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, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.02.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.