Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $2 Million Stock Holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 193.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,027 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 56,073 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.15% of First Busey worth $2,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,498,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 168.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 149,279 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,884,000 after acquiring an additional 93,733 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of First Busey by 81.1% in the third 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. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 442.2% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 72,438 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 59,077 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,294,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of First Busey stock traded up $0.15 on Wednesday, reaching $21.72. 361,633 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 297,523. The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.29 and its 200-day moving average is $24.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $21.13 and a one year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. This is a boost from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BUSE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 482,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.