U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 153.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,949,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,807,662 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $374,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of USB. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 4.4% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 8,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 12,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on USB shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on 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, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.27.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE USB opened at $51.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.03. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $37.81 and a 1-year high of $53.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.18.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was 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 owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This represents a 16.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.