Man Group plc Reduces Stock Position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Man Group plc lessened its holdings in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 39,355 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,109 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in First Busey were worth $928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BUSE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 822.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 507.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Down 0.9%

BUSE opened at $21.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. First Busey Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.17 and its 200 day moving average is $23.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.75.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BUSE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,700 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Busey Company 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.