Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,295,804 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 22,096 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.28% of First Busey worth $33,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the second quarter worth about $216,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 1.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 411,749 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,968,000 after buying an additional 6,658 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 257.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in First Busey by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 87,257 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE traded up $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $24.25. The company had a trading volume of 123,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 228,200. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.86. First Busey Co. has a 52 week low of $21.68 and a 52 week high of $28.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.54.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $170.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.32 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BUSE. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com upgraded First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens downgraded First Busey from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

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.