Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 110,895 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,500,343 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 110,895 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 6.15% of First Busey worth $82,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of First Busey by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,122,896 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,467,000 after purchasing an additional 58,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,672,000 after buying an additional 12,879 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,825,000 after buying an additional 189,115 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter worth $9,115,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in First Busey by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 322,813 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $20.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.49 and its 200 day moving average is $23.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.75. First Busey Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is 93.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on BUSE shares. 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. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 482,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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