First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Purchases $43,652.50 in Stock

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) 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 cost of $23.75 per share, for a total transaction of $43,652.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 437,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

First Busey Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of BUSE stock traded up $0.05 on Monday, hitting $24.04. The company had a trading volume of 539,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,885. The stock's 50-day moving average is $23.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.87. First Busey Co. has a twelve month low of $21.59 and a twelve month high of $28.97.

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

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First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. First Busey's payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BUSE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.00.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BUSE. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,689,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,488 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35,360 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 596.4% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 133,264 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,141,000 after buying an additional 114,129 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $721,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of First Busey by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 114,808 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,706,000 after buying an additional 45,400 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Busey

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.