U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Acquired by Grove Bank & Trust

Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 2,235.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,353 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,259,000 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. Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 29,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 4.1% in the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 20,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $954,000 after buying an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Thomasville National Bank increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 651,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,779,000 after acquiring an additional 21,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 3,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,900. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on USB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.14.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $47.01. The company had a trading volume of 2,820,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,213,990. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $30.47 and a 12-month high of $47.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.50. The company has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

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.