American Century Companies Inc. Buys 608,470 Shares of First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its ownership in First Busey Corporation by 54.2% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 608,470 shares and now holds a total of 1,731,366 shares valued at approximately $37.4 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on First Busey, with recent price targets ranging from $26.00 to $30.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $27.17.
• First Busey recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.3%, with a payout ratio of 89.29%.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 54.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,731,366 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 608,470 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.04% of First Busey worth $37,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BUSE. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 822.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in First Busey by 507.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Busey by 56.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.17.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.44. The stock had a trading volume of 564,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,908. First Busey Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $28.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.91 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $58,125.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,956. The trade was a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 8,950 shares of company stock valued at $203,163 over the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.