UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) by 50.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,000 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UMB Financial were worth $1,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UMBF. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UMB Financial by 767.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,269 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 18,817 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of UMB Financial by 403.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 866,848 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,114,000 after purchasing an additional 694,751 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of UMB Financial by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,689,895 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $140,968,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of UMB Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $3,286,000. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of UMB Financial by 229.6% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 47,116 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,952,000 after buying an additional 32,820 shares during the last quarter. 87.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UMB Financial

In other UMB Financial news, Director Greg M. Graves purchased 258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $109.29 per share, with a total value of $28,196.82. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,961,106.76. This trade represents a 0.72 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Pauls sold 849 shares of UMB Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total transaction of $93,746.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,852.86. This represents a 11.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,303 shares of company stock worth $5,879,967. 8.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UMB Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of UMB Financial stock opened at $119.58 on Friday. UMB Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $76.00 and a twelve month high of $129.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.54.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $716.44 million for 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 period last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that UMB Financial Co. will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current year.

UMB Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from UMB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 20.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on UMBF shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of UMB Financial from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded UMB Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on UMB Financial from $123.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup initiated coverage on UMB Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $127.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on UMB Financial in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

UMB Financial 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.