Focus Financial Network Inc. Acquires 1,473 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter worth $20,188,000. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 200.7% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 18,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 12,197 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 6.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 276,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,363,000 after buying an additional 16,686 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 90.3% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 862,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,676,000 after acquiring an additional 409,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $732,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $47.84 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.39 and a fifty-two week high of $50.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $74.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.92 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 Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USB has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.87.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.