Janus Henderson Group PLC Grows Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 229.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 845,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 588,999 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.05% of U.S. Bancorp worth $38,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 31.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 829,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,930,000 after buying an additional 197,725 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 184.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 70,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,214,000 after acquiring an additional 45,560 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,521,000. Concentric Capital Strategies LP acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,320,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,261.6% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 142,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,506,000 after purchasing an additional 131,816 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.72.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB opened at $52.15 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $37.81 and a one year high of $53.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.99 and its 200-day moving average is $44.73. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $81.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 12.91%. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

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

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.