First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael David Cassens Sells 1,441 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Michael David Cassens sold 1,441 First Busey shares at an average price of $31.08, generating $44,786.28. The sale was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced his holdings by 1.08% to 131,453 shares.
• First Busey shares recently traded at $30.92, near their 12-month high of $31.70. The bank’s latest quarterly earnings were stronger than expected, with EPS of $0.69 versus the $0.63 consensus estimate.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, equivalent to a $1.04 annualized payout and a 3.4% yield. Analysts collectively rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $32.00.

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) Director Michael David Cassens sold 1,441 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.08, for a total transaction of $44,786.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 131,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,085,559.24. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

First Busey Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.92. 593,288 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,417. First Busey Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.00 and a 12 month high of $31.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.72. 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 (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.00%.The company had revenue of $194.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.59 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BUSE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in First Busey by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,746,996 shares of the bank's stock worth $184,301,000 after purchasing an additional 611,090 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,067,210 shares of the bank's stock worth $128,046,000 after buying an additional 194,343 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in First Busey by 36,664.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank's stock valued at $74,510,000 after buying an additional 3,123,454 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in First Busey by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,661 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,941,000 after acquiring an additional 102,904 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in First Busey by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,314,576 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,274,000 after acquiring an additional 145,681 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Busey in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.00.

About First Busey

First Busey NASDAQ: BUSE is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts.

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