Verition Fund Management LLC Purchases 245,832 Shares of First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 69.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 601,355 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 245,832 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in First Busey were worth $14,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in First Busey by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,135,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $165,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464,965 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Busey by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,078,833 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,575,000 after purchasing an additional 33,430 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in First Busey by 36,664.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,510,000 after purchasing an additional 3,123,454 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in First Busey by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,941,000 after purchasing an additional 102,904 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in First Busey by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,314,576 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,274,000 after purchasing an additional 145,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of First Busey stock opened at $28.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Busey Corporation has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $29.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.62.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 19.16%.The firm had revenue of $197.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.15 million. Analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Busey’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other First Busey news, CAO Scott A. Phillips bought 5,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $129,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer owned 8,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,265. This represents a 149.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Stephens lifted their price target on First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on First Busey from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.50.

About First Busey

First Busey (NASDAQ: BUSE) is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts.