First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Shares Purchased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 45.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,054 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 17,778 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of First Busey worth $1,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in First Busey by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,500,343 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,503,000 after acquiring an additional 110,895 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 58,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Busey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,323 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,672,000 after acquiring an additional 12,879 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in First Busey by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,825,000 after acquiring an additional 189,115 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in First Busey by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 642,397 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,141,000 after acquiring an additional 36,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Down 2.8%

BUSE opened at $21.86 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average is $21.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.41. 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 company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.75. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $18.40 and a one year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. Analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BUSE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded First Busey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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. Raymond James decreased their target price on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. The trade was a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

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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