Legal & General Group Plc Purchases New Shares in UMB Financial Corporation $UMBF

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 95,737 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $13,667,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in UMB Financial during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UMB Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UMB Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of UMB Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in UMB Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. 87.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UMB Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UMBF opened at $144.59 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.83. UMB Financial Corporation has a one year low of $103.38 and a one year high of $153.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $778.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $727.63 million. UMB Financial had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 21.64%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that UMB Financial Corporation will post 13.48 EPS for the current year.

UMB Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This is a positive change from UMB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan G. Murphy sold 1,377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.55, for a total transaction of $200,422.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,547,924.25. This trade represents a 11.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President James D. Rine sold 8,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.59, for a total transaction of $1,093,337.14. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 61,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,147,125.14. This trade represents a 11.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,171 shares of company stock valued at $4,919,826. Company insiders own 5.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UMBF. Zacks Research lowered shares of UMB Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on UMB Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on UMB Financial from $143.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on UMB Financial from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $160.00 price objective on UMB Financial and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UMB Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.54.

UMB Financial Profile

UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: UMBF) is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Through its principal banking subsidiary, UMB Bank, N.A., the company provides a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services. Key offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, treasury and cash management, as well as online and mobile banking solutions designed to serve businesses, individuals and municipalities.

In addition to its core banking operations, UMB Financial delivers wealth management and trust services, investment advisory, asset management and retirement planning to high-net-worth individuals, families and institutions.