Jane Street Group LLC Decreases Position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Jane Street Group LLC lowered its position in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 80.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,820 shares of the bank's stock after selling 40,644 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in First Busey were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in First Busey by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,396 shares of the bank's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of First Busey by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,799 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 84,997 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,003,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Busey by 1,173.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of First Busey stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.73. The company had a trading volume of 444,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,887. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.97. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.19 and a 200 day moving average of $23.09.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. On average, equities analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. First Busey's payout ratio is presently 93.46%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 482,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,462,503.10. This trade represents a 0.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,509 shares in the company, valued at $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 14,825 shares of company stock worth $323,038 in the last 90 days. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.