First Busey Corporation $BUSE Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in First Busey Corporation by 2,213.0%, owning 26,253 shares worth approximately $567,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have mixed views on First Busey, with price targets ranging from $25.00 to $29.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on several upgrades and downgrades.
• First Busey declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, representing an annualized yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 89.29% of earnings.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 2,213.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,253 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 25,118 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in First Busey were worth $567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 52.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,706,925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613,848 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in First Busey in the 1st quarter valued at $16,837,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in First Busey in the 1st quarter valued at $15,301,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 309,301 shares during the period. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new position in First Busey during the 1st quarter worth $5,162,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Scott A. Phillips acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,250. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $58,125.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,956. This represents a 3.08% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BUSE shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group started coverage on First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.33.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of First Busey stock traded up $0.35 on Thursday, hitting $24.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 319,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,535. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.82. First Busey Corporation has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.91 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.29%.

First Busey Company 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.