CENTRAL TRUST Co Cuts Holdings in UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF)

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its position in shares of UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 911 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 206 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in UMB Financial were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in UMB Financial in the third quarter worth about $48,531,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in UMB Financial by 258.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 392,397 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,245,000 after purchasing an additional 282,783 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in UMB Financial by 438.8% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 320,550 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,693,000 after purchasing an additional 261,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in UMB Financial in the third quarter worth about $18,838,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on UMBF. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of UMB Financial in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of UMB Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of UMB Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UMB Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UMB Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.14.

Insider Activity

In other UMB Financial news, Director Kevin Charles Gallagher sold 527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.13, for a total value of $60,146.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,484,831.30. This trade represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Robert Brian Beaird sold 854 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $719,058.64. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,681 shares of company stock valued at $3,201,798 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.85% of the company’s stock.

UMB Financial Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of UMB Financial stock opened at $117.48 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.28. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.82. UMB Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $76.00 and a fifty-two week high of $129.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.24. UMB Financial had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 13.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that UMB Financial Co. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UMB Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.80%.

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.