First Busey Corporation $BUSE Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,067,210 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 194,343 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.06% of First Busey worth $128,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in First Busey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 127.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 726.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 2,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Scott A. Phillips purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $216,265. The trade was a 149.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Busey Trading Down 0.3%

BUSE opened at $29.75 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Busey Corporation has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $30.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 0.72.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $197.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 19.16%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BUSE has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens increased their target price on First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial lifted 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.75.

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.