TrueMark Investments LLC Acquires New Holdings in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 238,960 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $5,162,000. First Busey makes up about 1.4% of TrueMark Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. TrueMark Investments LLC owned about 0.42% of First Busey as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in First Busey by 161.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Busey by 822.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in First Busey by 507.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in First Busey by 3,182.9% during 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 in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,509 shares in the company, valued at $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 4,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 76,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,496. This trade represents a 5.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.80.

First Busey Stock Performance

BUSE traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $23.42. 383,040 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 395,706. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.66. First Busey Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.40 and a 12 month high of $28.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 8.32%. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. Analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.46%.

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.