UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) Hits New 1-Year High on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $123.07 and last traded at $122.67, with a volume of 2352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.04.

Specifically, Director Greg M. Graves purchased 258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $109.29 per share, for a total transaction of $28,196.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,961,106.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UMBF. Piper Sandler raised their target price on UMB Financial from $102.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup began coverage on UMB Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $127.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on UMB Financial from $118.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on UMB Financial from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.00.

UMB Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $105.88 and a 200 day moving average of $93.94.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $716.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.83 million. UMB Financial had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 14.44%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UMB Financial Co. will post 9.33 EPS for the current year.

UMB Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from UMB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UMB Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UMB Financial by 403.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 866,848 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,114,000 after buying an additional 694,751 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in UMB Financial by 567.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 733,734 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,208,000 after purchasing an additional 623,751 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UMB Financial by 9.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,705,385 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $409,321,000 after purchasing an additional 394,578 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UMB Financial by 102.7% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 752,576 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,780,000 after purchasing an additional 381,278 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in UMB Financial in the third quarter valued at $12,867,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.78% of the company’s stock.

UMB Financial Company Profile

UMB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company that provides banking services and asset servicing in the United States and internationally. The Commercial Banking segment provides commercial loans and credit card; commercial real estate financing; letters of credit; loan syndication, and consultative service; various business solutions including asset-based lending, mezzanine debt, and minority equity investment; and treasury management service, such as depository service, account reconciliation, cash management tool, accounts payable and receivable solution, electronic fund transfer and automated payment, controlled disbursement, lockbox service, and remote deposit capture service.