Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 54,909 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,294,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of First Busey as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Huntington National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First Busey Trading Up 0.2 %

BUSE stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.19. The stock had a trading volume of 371,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,478. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. First Busey Co. has a 12-month low of $21.21 and a 12-month high of $28.97. The company's 50-day moving average price is $23.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.88.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 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 predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. This is a boost from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

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.