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

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael David Cassens sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total value of $20,062.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 140,888 shares in the company, valued at $3,768,754. This represents a 0.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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, February 17th, Michael David Cassens sold 750 shares of First Busey stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.61, for a total value of $19,957.50.

First Busey Price Performance

First Busey stock opened at $26.20 on Friday. First Busey Corporation has a one year low of $19.55 and a one year high of $27.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.50. The company has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 0.72.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $201.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.70 million. First Busey had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 9.46%. As a group, analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 80.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 95.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 8,884 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 198,945 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 28,605 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 19,431 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 469,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 38,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of First Busey by 78.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 97,560 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Busey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on First Busey in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.17.

First Busey Company Profile

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.