919,448 Shares in First Busey Corporation $BUSE Acquired by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in First Busey Corporation, purchasing 919,448 shares valued at approximately $19.86 million, representing around 1.61% of the company's total shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and Barclays, have increased their holdings in First Busey, with institutional ownership totaling 56.49% of the stock.
• First Busey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share with a yield of 4.1%, and reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations by $0.02 per share.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 919,448 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $19,861,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.61% of First Busey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in First Busey by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,317,000 after acquiring an additional 309,301 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 59.3% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth $263,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth $372,000. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in First Busey during the first quarter valued at $1,081,000. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $58,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,956. This trade represents a 3.08% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,250. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 3,950 shares of company stock worth $93,163. Insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

First Busey Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of First Busey stock traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $24.71. The company had a trading volume of 238,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,969. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $23.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 0.81. First Busey Corporation has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

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

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given 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 dividend yield of 4.0%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on BUSE shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

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.