Azora Capital LP Decreases Stake in UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF)

Azora Capital LP lessened its position in shares of UMB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UMBF) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 179,645 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 221,333 shares during the quarter. Azora Capital LP owned about 0.37% of UMB Financial worth $20,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of UMB Financial by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 38,462 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,341,000 after purchasing an additional 15,949 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in UMB Financial by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of UMB Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 27,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,063,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of UMB Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $48,235,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of UMB Financial by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 34,754 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,922,000 after buying an additional 4,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.78% of the company’s stock.

UMB Financial Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:UMBF opened at $100.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.71. UMB Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $78.56 and a twelve month high of $129.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.14.

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

UMB Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. UMB Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on UMB Financial from $128.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $137.00 target price (up previously from $132.00) on shares of UMB Financial in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on UMB Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of UMB Financial from $139.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of UMB Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J Mariner Kemper sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kevin Charles Gallagher sold 527 shares of UMB Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,484,831.30. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UMB Financial Company 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.