103,257 Shares in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Purchased by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. bought a new position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 103,257 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,230,000. UMB Bank n.a. owned 0.18% of First Busey as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at $9,115,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Busey by 121.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,317,000 after acquiring an additional 309,301 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,498,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new position in First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,850,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,825,000 after buying an additional 189,115 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on BUSE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James reduced their target price on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of First Busey stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.79. 880,706 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 380,557. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.99. First Busey Co. has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's payout ratio is 93.46%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

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

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.