Independent Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 11,967 U.S. Bancorp $USB

Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $622,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in USB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 146,376,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,810,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828,404 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,701,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,755,083,000 after purchasing an additional 522,368 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,679,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,002,518,000 after buying an additional 443,646 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,887,497,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5,236.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 33,350,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,556,000 after buying an additional 32,725,000 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB opened at $64.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $43.46 and a 1-year high of $64.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.30.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 18.49%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $67.50 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.