MetLife Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey Corporation by 54.4% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 17,717 shares, bringing its total ownership to 50,269 shares valued at approximately $1,086,000.
• First Busey recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.63 for the last quarter, which surpassed analysts' expectations of $0.61, although its revenue came in slightly below estimates at $192.05 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share with a yield of 4.0%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 89.29%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 54.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,269 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 17,717 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.09% of First Busey worth $1,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 56.4% during the first 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. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 23.7% during the first 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. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 59.3% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $58,125.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 83,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,942,956. This represents a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on BUSE. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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. 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 restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.33.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.64. 422,506 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 434,207. First Busey Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50 day moving average is $23.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

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

First Busey Company Profile

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.