U.S. Bancorp $USB Stock Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems increased its U.S. Bancorp position by 52.1% in the third quarter, adding 370,691 shares to hold 1.08 million shares valued at approximately $62.5 million.
• U.S. Bancorp reported quarterly earnings of $1.34 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 8.7% year over year to $8.04 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.54 per share, providing a 3.6% yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $69.21, although CEO Gunjan Kedia sold 27,267 shares in August.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 52.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,082,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 370,691 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.07% of U.S. Bancorp worth $62,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. NFSG Corp acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, John Boyer Inc. bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, CEO Gunjan Kedia sold 27,267 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.37, for a total transaction of $1,700,642.79. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 426,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,585,960.94. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $59.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $45.02 and a 12-month high of $66.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.03.

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

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on USB shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. HSBC increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.21.

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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