Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases 29,340 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 212.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,340 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,737,000 after buying an additional 4,117 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 31,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 4.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,763,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,659,000 after purchasing an additional 75,104 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on USB. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.88.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $48.86 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average price of $50.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.09. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $37.81 and a 52-week high of $53.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 12th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.