Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 59,077 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 442.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,438 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 59,077 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.13% of First Busey worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BUSE. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at $5,498,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of First Busey by 168.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 149,279 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,884,000 after purchasing an additional 93,733 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of First Busey by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,069 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 60,506 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at $1,294,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of First Busey by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,287 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,549,000 after purchasing an additional 39,900 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Stock Performance

BUSE traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.05. The stock had a trading volume of 905,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,203. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $23.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.78. First Busey Co. has a 1 year low of $21.21 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. Equities analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey's payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BUSE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,838 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,390,173.75. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and FirsTech.