Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 8,263 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,263 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 305,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,756 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 23,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the period. McAdam LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the period. Finally, Community Trust & Investment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $284,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:USB opened at $48.30 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $75.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.18 and its 200 day moving average is $43.00. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.88 and a 12 month high of $50.47.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The company 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 revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares in the company, valued at $6,363,603.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.87.

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.