First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Shares Acquired by Voloridge Investment Management LLC

Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 596.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 133,264 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 114,129 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of First Busey worth $3,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James cut their price target on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.80.

First Busey Trading Down 0.3%

First Busey stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 605,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,764. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.16 and its 200 day moving average is $23.16. First Busey Co. has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

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

First Busey Dividend Announcement

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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $119,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 72,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,563,875.60. The trade was a 8.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 10,375 shares of company stock worth $225,250. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.