First Busey Corporation $BUSE Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in First Busey Corporation by 80.0%, owning $3.51 million worth of shares.
• Investment analysts have mixed ratings for First Busey, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $27.17.
• First Busey reported a quarterly earnings of $0.63 per share, beating estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding 4.3% annually.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 80.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 162,642 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 72,273 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.29% of First Busey worth $3,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 raised its holdings 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First Busey in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Busey by 56.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in First Busey by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BUSE. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group began coverage on First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.17.

First Busey Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $23.91. 265,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,438. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.50. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.81.

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

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. First Busey's payout ratio is presently 89.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,250. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $58,125.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,956. The trade was a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 8,950 shares of company stock valued at $203,163 in the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.