Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 4,193 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its holdings in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,626 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,193 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in First Busey were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,053,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 76,255 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,893,000 after acquiring an additional 37,563 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,886,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,475,000 after purchasing an additional 26,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.02, for a total value of $52,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 141,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,252,219.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.02, for a total value of $52,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 141,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,252,219.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.98 per share, with a total value of $45,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,503.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 4,348 shares of company stock worth $93,953 and sold 6,900 shares worth $157,182. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BUSE. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set 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 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE opened at $23.72 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.83. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $16.26 and a 52-week high of $25.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

First Busey 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.