ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 22,809 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 300,549 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 22,809 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.53% of First Busey worth $7,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,115,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 121.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,317,000 after purchasing an additional 309,301 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,498,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,850,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,825,000 after purchasing an additional 189,115 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BUSE shares. Raymond James dropped their price target on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.80.

First Busey Stock Down 0.9%

BUSE traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.61. 420,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,813. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company's fifty day moving average price is $21.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.35. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.75. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $18.40 and a one year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. As a group, analysts expect that First Busey Co. 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, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 482,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. This trade represents a 0.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

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.