First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Position Trimmed by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,286,280 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 28,500 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in First Busey were worth $31,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Busey by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,886,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,475,000 after buying an additional 26,829 shares in the last quarter. Plancorp LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,163,596 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Busey by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 605,177 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,632,000 after purchasing an additional 34,034 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in First Busey by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 523,703 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,066,000 after purchasing an additional 66,588 shares during the period. Finally, Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in First Busey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,053,000. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BUSE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.75.

First Busey Stock Up 0.4 %

BUSE stock opened at $23.82 on Monday. First Busey Co. has a 12-month low of $16.65 and a 12-month high of $25.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.83.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total transaction of $51,428.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 139,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,017.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total transaction of $51,428.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 139,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,017.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.98 per share, for a total transaction of $45,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 47,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,503.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 4,348 shares of company stock worth $93,953 and have sold 6,900 shares worth $157,182. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About First Busey

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.