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

Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 121.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 565,001 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 309,301 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.99% of First Busey worth $13,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,293 shares of the bank's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 45,976 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,084,000 after buying an additional 16,954 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 49,910 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares during the period. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 96.3% in the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 207,956 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,902,000 after buying an additional 102,029 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 482,143 shares in the company, 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired 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 now owns 72,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 9,375 shares of company stock worth $203,250. 7.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of BUSE stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $21.98. 84,902 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,880. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.28. First Busey Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97.

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

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's payout ratio is 93.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BUSE shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

First Busey 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.