UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

UMBF has been the topic of several other reports. 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of UMB Financial in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of UMB Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $127.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their target price on UMB Financial from $123.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on UMB Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

UMB Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UMBF opened at $114.61 on Friday. UMB Financial has a 52-week low of $76.00 and a 52-week high of $129.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.12.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. UMB Financial had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 14.44%. The company had revenue of $716.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UMB Financial will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

UMB Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from UMB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UMB Financial news, insider Robert Brian Beaird sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.38, for a total transaction of $105,366.52. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,828 shares in the company, valued at $719,058.64. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO J Mariner Kemper sold 24,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.95, for a total transaction of $3,036,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,552,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $193,960,384.80. The trade was a 1.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,603 shares of company stock worth $8,353,950 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UMB Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UMB Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in UMB Financial by 31.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of UMB Financial in the third quarter worth about $83,000. Acropolis Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UMB Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in shares of UMB Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.78% of the company’s stock.

About UMB Financial

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.