Park Avenue Securities LLC Takes Position in UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF)

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,520 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UMB Financial in the third quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in UMB Financial by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in UMB Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $83,000. Acropolis Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in UMB Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $156,000. Finally, Ellenbecker Investment Group purchased a new position in UMB Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Institutional investors own 87.78% of the company’s stock.

UMB Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UMBF opened at $121.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 0.82. UMB Financial Co. 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.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. UMB Financial had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The company had revenue of $716.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Analysts expect that UMB Financial Co. will post 9.23 EPS for the current year.

UMB Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from UMB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 20.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UMBF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of UMB Financial in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded UMB Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on UMB Financial from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on UMB Financial in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup assumed 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UMB Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Mariner Kemper sold 24,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.83, for a total value of $2,644,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,576,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,581,813.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert Brian Beaird sold 854 shares of UMB Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,828 shares in the company, valued at $719,058.64. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,303 shares of company stock valued at $5,879,967. 8.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.