First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank cut its stake in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,589 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 538 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in First Busey were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 1,143.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 18.9% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 23,118 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,669 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Busey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.98 per share, with a total value of $45,960.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 47,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,503.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total transaction of $52,808.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,190,934.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.98 per share, with a total value of $45,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 47,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,503.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 4,348 shares of company stock worth $93,953 and have sold 6,900 shares worth $158,999. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BUSE shares. StockNews.com upgraded First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

First Busey Trading Up 0.4 %

First Busey stock opened at $22.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. First Busey Co. has a 12 month low of $17.51 and a 12 month high of $25.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.85.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $110.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.06 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 18.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is 48.48%.

First Busey 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.