First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael David Cassens Sells 1,441 Shares

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael David Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.08, for a total transaction of $44,786.28. Following the sale, the director owned 131,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,559.24. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of BUSE stock opened at $30.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.41. First Busey Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.00 and a 12 month high of $31.70.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $194.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.59 million. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. Analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Busey presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in First Busey by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,746,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $184,301,000 after acquiring an additional 611,090 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,067,210 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,046,000 after purchasing an additional 194,343 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 36,664.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,941,000 after purchasing an additional 102,904 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,314,576 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,274,000 after purchasing an additional 145,681 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.