Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC Takes $570,000 Position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 26,366 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,500,343 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,503,000 after purchasing an additional 110,895 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,122,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,467,000 after buying an additional 58,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,672,000 after buying an additional 12,879 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,825,000 after buying an additional 189,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of First Busey by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 642,397 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,141,000 after acquiring an additional 36,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of BUSE opened at $23.42 on Friday. First Busey Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $28.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.66.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 8.32%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's payout ratio is 93.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 4,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 76,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,496. The trade was a 5.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Caple bought 1,175 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following 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. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 13,125 shares of company stock worth $286,148. Insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BUSE. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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