Voya Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey Corporation by 71.9% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 25,458 shares, bringing its total to 60,886 shares worth approximately $1.31 million.
• First Busey recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 89.29%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for First Busey, with an average price target of $27.33, indicating potential future growth.

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 71.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,886 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 25,458 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of First Busey worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in First Busey by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,096,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,086,000 after buying an additional 1,596,262 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,706,925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,670,000 after buying an additional 1,613,848 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,731,366 shares of the bank's stock valued at $37,398,000 after buying an additional 608,470 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in First Busey by 7.7% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,309,057 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,276,000 after purchasing an additional 93,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Busey by 32.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 937,591 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,252,000 after purchasing an additional 230,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of First Busey stock opened at $24.55 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. First Busey Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.40 and a 12-month high of $28.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.58.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 9.48%.The firm had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.91 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. First Busey's payout ratio is 89.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 3,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.60 per share, with a total value of $73,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 86,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,135,230.80. This trade represents a 3.58% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips acquired 1,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,250. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $157,175 over the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on BUSE shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Hovde Group began coverage on First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler began coverage on First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

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.

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