Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Purchases New Stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 17,244 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in First Busey by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,293 shares of the bank's stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in First Busey by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 103,131 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,431,000 after buying an additional 1,243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BUSE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.67.

First Busey Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.90. 339,649 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,575. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.53. First Busey Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $28.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43 and a beta of 0.77.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.46%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 5,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $119,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 72,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. This represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148 in the last three months. 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.