First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael David Cassens Sells 2,300 Shares

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.81, for a total value of $54,763.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 137,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,278,517.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Michael David Cassens also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, April 15th, Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of First Busey stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total transaction of $51,428.00.
• On Friday, March 15th, Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of First Busey stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total transaction of $52,808.00.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE remained flat at $23.85 during trading on Thursday. The stock had a trading volume of 113,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 164,174. The business's 50-day moving average is $23.11 and its 200-day moving average is $23.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.85. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $17.45 and a 52-week high of $25.80.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $110.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.06 million. First Busey had a net margin of 18.08% and a return on equity of 9.37%. On average, analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is 48.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BUSE shares. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Plancorp LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 742.9% in the 3rd quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,320,225 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,375,000 after buying an additional 1,163,596 shares in the last quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,053,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in First Busey by 565.7% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 402,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,980,000 after acquiring an additional 341,692 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in First Busey by 22.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,159,907 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,895,000 after purchasing an additional 212,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,359,080 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,686,000 after buying an additional 72,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

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.