Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $3.69 Million Investment in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 156,498 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,689,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.28% of First Busey at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,500,343 shares of the bank's stock valued at $82,503,000 after buying an additional 110,895 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in First Busey by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,122,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,467,000 after acquiring an additional 58,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in First Busey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,672,000 after acquiring an additional 12,879 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 39.2% in the fourth 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. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 642,397 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,141,000 after purchasing an additional 36,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of First Busey stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $22.23. 491,651 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 373,606. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.78. First Busey Co. has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.97. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $21.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts expect that First Busey Co. 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, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BUSE has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 5,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $119,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 72,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,563,875.60. This represents a 8.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. This trade represents a 0.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 14,825 shares of company stock valued at $323,038 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

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.