U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Shares Bought by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 382 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE USB opened at $48.69 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $46.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.97. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.88 and a 52 week high of $50.47. The stock has a market cap of $75.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 2.85 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.87.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.