John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Makes New $536,000 Investment in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 24,827 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BUSE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Busey by 822.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in First Busey by 507.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 76,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,496. This trade represents a 5.55% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Caple bought 1,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at $97,394.40. This trade represents a 35.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 13,125 shares of company stock worth $286,148. Insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

First Busey Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.22. 648,725 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 615,084. First Busey Corporation has a one year low of $18.40 and a one year high of $28.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.58. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.91 million. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 9.76%. On average, analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is 89.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BUSE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.17.

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.