First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its position in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387,831 shares of the bank's stock after selling 23,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.68% of First Busey worth $9,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,497,004 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,952,000 after acquiring an additional 6,367 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First Busey by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,295,804 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 22,096 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in First Busey by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,122,896 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,467,000 after purchasing an additional 58,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,672,000 after buying an additional 12,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,825,000 after buying an additional 189,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on BUSE shares. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James dropped their target price on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.80.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 148,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 332,482. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.86 and a 200 day moving average of $23.87. First Busey Co. has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $28.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. On average, equities analysts expect that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.76%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at $10,462,503.10. This represents a 0.35 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate 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.