Cresset Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Cresset Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 51.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,095 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,036 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in First Busey were worth $474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in First Busey by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,396 shares of the bank's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in First Busey by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,799 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in First Busey by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in First Busey by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 84,997 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in First Busey by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,983 shares of the bank's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of First Busey stock opened at $22.37 on Thursday. First Busey Co. has a 12 month low of $18.40 and a 12 month high of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.49.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. As a group, analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is presently 93.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BUSE. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reduced their target price on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut First Busey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.80.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

About First Busey

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.

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