Teacher Retirement System of Texas Cuts Stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 72.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,393 shares of the bank's stock after selling 32,931 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in First Busey were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 309,301 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in First Busey in the first quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in First Busey in the 1st quarter valued at $372,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Steven W. Caple bought 1,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at $97,394.40. This trade represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 76,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,496. This trade represents a 5.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 13,125 shares of company stock worth $286,148 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 121,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,161. The company's fifty day moving average is $22.95 and its 200-day moving average is $22.55. First Busey Corporation has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. On average, 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 will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BUSE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.67.

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.