Michael David Cassens Sells 750 Shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael David Cassens sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.24, for a total value of $18,180.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 140,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,351.44. The trade was a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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

• On Monday, December 15th, Michael David Cassens sold 750 shares of First Busey stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.37, for a total value of $19,027.50.
• On Friday, November 14th, Michael David Cassens sold 750 shares of First Busey stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.92, for a total transaction of $17,190.00.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE opened at $25.49 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.74. First Busey Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $25.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17 and a beta of 0.79.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $197.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.07 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 11.00%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.96%.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 726.1% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in First Busey during the third quarter worth $86,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in First Busey by 111.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,920 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in First Busey by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 8,745 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on First Busey from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.33.

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.