Squarepoint Ops LLC Makes New $721,000 Investment in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 30,599 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $721,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.05% of First Busey at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted 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 last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in First Busey in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 822.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 507.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $119,350.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 72,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. The trade was a 8.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,700 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 482,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 14,825 shares of company stock worth $323,038 in the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BUSE shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

First Busey Trading Down 0.5%

BUSE traded down $0.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $22.18. 296,140 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 372,028. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.12. First Busey Co. has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.78.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $140.15 million. As a group, analysts expect that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.46%.

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.