First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 642,397 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 36,531 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.13% of First Busey worth $15,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,500,343 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,503,000 after purchasing an additional 110,895 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in First Busey by 5.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First Busey by 1.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 189,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in First Busey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,115,000. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 482,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Busey Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $22.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.48. First Busey Co. has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.75.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. Research analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on BUSE shares. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com cut First Busey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.80.

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.

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