First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Sells $43,878.45 in Stock

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $43,878.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 130,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,958,865.40. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Monday, August 17th, Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of First Busey stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.08, for a total value of $44,786.28.

First Busey Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of First Busey stock traded down $0.30 on Wednesday, reaching $30.24. 959,644 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 692,622. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.71. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.00 and a 52 week high of $31.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.00.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $194.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.59 million. Sell-side analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BUSE has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of First Busey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price on First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 61.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 881 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Busey by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,972 shares of the bank’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 20,335 shares of the bank’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in First Busey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in First Busey by 13.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

About First Busey

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Its principal subsidiary, Busey Bank, provides banking services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions through branch locations and digital banking channels.

The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgages, treasury management, cash management and other traditional banking products. Through its wealth management operations, First Busey also provides investment management, trust, retirement planning, financial planning and related advisory services.

First Busey traces its history to 1868 and serves customers primarily across Illinois, as well as selected markets in Indiana, Missouri and Florida.