Freestone Grove Partners LP Buys New Stake in UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 427,390 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $48,235,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.88% of UMB Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UMBF. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UMB Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,762,481 shares of the bank's stock valued at $537,494,000 after purchasing an additional 48,507 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in UMB Financial by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,021,285 shares of the bank's stock worth $228,122,000 after acquiring an additional 102,104 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $91,114,000 after acquiring an additional 694,751 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of UMB Financial by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 637,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,900,000 after acquiring an additional 88,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of UMB Financial by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 415,607 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,905,000 after purchasing an additional 98,427 shares during the period. 87.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on UMBF shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on UMB Financial from $156.00 to $146.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UMB Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of UMB Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of UMB Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $137.00 price target (up from $132.00) on shares of UMB Financial in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UMB Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at UMB Financial

In other UMB Financial news, CEO J Mariner Kemper sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.61, for a total transaction of $380,135.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 334,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,313,427.67. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UMB Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

UMBF traded up $0.66 during trading on Monday, hitting $101.00. 470,181 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 521,104. UMB Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $78.56 and a 12-month high of $129.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $97.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.37. UMB Financial had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The firm had revenue of $563.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $555.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that UMB Financial Co. will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UMB Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. UMB Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.13%.

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.