23,509 Shares in First Busey Corporation $BUSE Purchased by Bayview Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Bayview Asset Management LLC purchased 23,509 shares of First Busey Corporation ($BUSE) for approximately $508,000, making it the firm's 16th largest position, and other institutional investors have also increased their stakes significantly this quarter.
• In a recent insider transaction, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 4,000 shares at $22.00 each, increasing her ownership of the stock by 5.55%.
• First Busey's stock was reported at $24.65, with a 4.1% annualized dividend yield and recent earnings per share of $0.63, surpassing estimates.

Bayview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,509 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $508,000. First Busey comprises about 0.2% of Bayview Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of First Busey in the 1st quarter worth about $475,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in First Busey in the 1st quarter valued at about $252,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in First Busey in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,395,000. Corebridge Financial Inc. raised its stake in First Busey by 54.6% in the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 40,950 shares of the bank's stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 14,457 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 50,269 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 17,717 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 76,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,496. This trade represents a 5.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,250. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 7,950 shares of company stock valued at $181,163 in the last three months. 3.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Busey Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE opened at $24.65 on Thursday. First Busey Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.40 and a 12 month high of $28.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.41 and a 200-day moving average of $22.53.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 9.48%.The company had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.91 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. First Busey's payout ratio is presently 89.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BUSE. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group began coverage on First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.17.

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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