Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) by 767.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,269 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,817 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in UMB Financial were worth $2,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UMB Financial by 403.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 866,848 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,114,000 after purchasing an additional 694,751 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UMB Financial by 567.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 733,734 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,208,000 after buying an additional 623,751 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UMB Financial by 102.7% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 752,576 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,780,000 after buying an additional 381,278 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of UMB Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $12,867,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in UMB Financial by 6.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,752,524 shares of the bank’s stock worth $146,196,000 after acquiring an additional 111,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UMB Financial

In other UMB Financial news, Director Kris A. Robbins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.50, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,127.50. This represents a 60.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert Brian Beaird sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 5,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $719,058.64. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,303 shares of company stock valued at $5,830,165. Company insiders own 8.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup began coverage on UMB Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $127.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of UMB Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of UMB Financial in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of UMB Financial from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of UMB Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UMB Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.00.

UMB Financial Stock Performance

UMB Financial stock opened at $125.49 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.78. UMB Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $71.04 and a 1-year high of $129.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.80 and a 200-day moving average of $98.97.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $716.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that UMB Financial Co. will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

UMB Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This is a positive change from UMB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.50%.

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.