This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In UMB Financial

We wouldn't blame UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that J. Kemper, the Chairman recently netted about US$635k selling shares at an average price of US$63.55. However, that sale only accounted for 0.5% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

See our latest analysis for UMB Financial

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At UMB Financial

Notably, that recent sale by Chairman J. Kemper was not the only time they sold UMB Financial shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$90.25 per share in a -US$1.6m sale. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$63.47. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$851k for 13.01k shares. But insiders sold 75.50k shares worth US$6.4m. All up, insiders sold more shares in UMB Financial than they bought, over the last year. The sellers received a price of around US$84.61, on average. It is certainly not great to see that insiders have sold shares in the company. But we note that the selling, on average, was at well above the recently traded price of US$63.47. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like UMB Financial better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that UMB Financial insiders own 5.3% of the company, worth about US$162m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The UMB Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for UMB Financial is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that UMB Financial has 2 warning signs (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course UMB Financial may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.