Rhumbline Advisers Has $2.76 Million Stock Position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 50.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,748 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 42,751 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.22% of First Busey worth $2,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Busey by 1,173.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Busey by 822.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in First Busey by 507.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in First Busey by 3,182.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,990 shares of the bank's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BUSE shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.80.

First Busey Trading Down 2.2%

First Busey stock opened at $22.30 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.50 and a 200-day moving average of $22.86. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $18.40 and a one year high of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.78.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. On average, equities analysts expect that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. First Busey's payout ratio is 93.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,509 shares in the company, valued at $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148. 3.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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