First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock: Insider Michael David Cassens Sells 1,441 Shares

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.12, for a total transaction of $41,961.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 128,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,743,987.52. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Tuesday, September 15th, Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of First Busey stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $43,878.45.
• 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 transaction of $44,786.28.

First Busey Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE opened at $29.43 on Friday. First Busey Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.12 and a 1 year high of $31.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.08 and a 200 day moving average of $28.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.59 million. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.98%.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BUSE. Allworth Financial LP lifted 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on BUSE shares. Piper Sandler downgraded First Busey from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research cut First Busey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Busey in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.00.

First Busey Company Profile

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

Busey Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, treasury management, trust services and other financial solutions. Through Busey Wealth Management, the company also provides investment management, financial planning, private banking and fiduciary services.