Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Position in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its First Busey stake in Q4, buying over 3.1 million shares and ending with a position worth about $74.5 million.
• First Busey reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting EPS of $0.67 versus the $0.57 consensus, while revenue came in essentially in line with estimates.
• The bank also maintained a 4.0% dividend yield with a quarterly payout of $0.26 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a $27.50 consensus price target.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 36,664.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,131,973 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 3,123,454 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 3.54% of First Busey worth $74,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC now owns 36,803 shares of the bank's stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,237 shares of the bank's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 91,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 127.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,583 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,043 shares of the bank's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, CAO Scott A. Phillips bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,350 shares in the company, valued at $216,265. This trade represents a 149.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Busey from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.50.

First Busey Stock Performance

First Busey stock opened at $25.81 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $25.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.72. First Busey Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $21.41 and a fifty-two week high of $27.65.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $197.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 10.19%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

First Busey Profile

First Busey NASDAQ: BUSE is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts.

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