U.S. Bancorp $USB Stock: AIA Group Ltd Lowers Position

Key Points

• AIA Group cut its U.S. Bancorp stake by 6.4% in the third quarter, selling 33,413 shares; it retained 486,940 shares valued at about $28.1 million.
• U.S. Bancorp beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting EPS of $1.34 and revenue of $8.04 billion; revenue rose 8.7% year over year.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $0.54 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with a $69.36 average price target.

AIA Group Ltd decreased its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 486,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 33,413 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $28,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the second quarter worth $30,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $28,000. John Boyer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, NFSG Corp bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $59.84 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $45.02 and a one year high of $66.07. The stock has a market cap of $93.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 18.85%. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.30 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gunjan Kedia sold 27,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.37, for a total value of $1,700,642.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 426,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,585,960.94. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore raised U.S. Bancorp from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Stephens raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.36.

U.S. Bancorp Profile

U.S. Bancorp NYSE: USB is a financial services holding company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. U.S. Bank provides banking, lending, payment, investment and wealth-management services to individuals, businesses, institutions and government entities.

The company's consumer and business banking operations offer deposit accounts, mortgages, home-equity and consumer loans, credit cards, small-business banking and commercial lending.

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