Paladin Wealth LLC Acquires New Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thomasville National Bank increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.4% during the third 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 period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 46.9% during the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 3,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 4.1% in the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 9,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 128.2% in the third quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 5,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 72.1% in the third quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 1,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $44.99 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $449,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on USB shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.14.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE:USB opened at $47.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $73.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.67 and its 200-day moving average is $42.51. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $30.47 and a 52-week high of $47.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend 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.