First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Shares Purchased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 822.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,707 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Busey were worth $40,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank grew its position in First Busey by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in First Busey by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in First Busey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 84,997 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,983 shares of the bank’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of First Busey stock opened at $21.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.75. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.83.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. Research analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on BUSE shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Busey currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.80.

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.