Empowered Funds LLC Buys 249,496 Shares of U.S. Bancorp $USB

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 725.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 283,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 249,496 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $12,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 143,269,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,482,935,000 after buying an additional 2,038,996 shares during the last quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. now owns 120,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,450,000 after acquiring an additional 12,630 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $745,000. Capital Square LLC increased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 23,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 6,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 349.2% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 417,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,905,000 after acquiring an additional 324,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $6,508,221.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,360,414 shares in the company, valued at $63,041,584.76. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $1,260,955.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 226,375 shares in the company, valued at $10,607,932.50. The trade was a 10.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE USB opened at $45.95 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $35.18 and a 1 year high of $53.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.21.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.11. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on USB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.50 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.55.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.