Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 20,601 First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,601 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BUSE. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in First Busey by 95.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,143 shares of the bank’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 8,884 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 28,605 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 469,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,137,000 after acquiring an additional 38,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in First Busey by 78.4% in 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. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of BUSE stock opened at $26.31 on Thursday. First Busey Corporation has a one year low of $18.40 and a one year high of $27.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 0.78.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $201.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.70 million. First Busey had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 9.59%. Analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is 80.62%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other news, President Mike Maddox purchased 1,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.52 per share, for a total transaction of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 40,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,945.60. This represents a 2.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BUSE shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Busey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

About First Busey

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.