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 Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.11, for a total transaction of $19,582.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 140,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,665,635.12. This represents a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Wednesday, April 15th, Michael David Cassens sold 750 shares of First Busey stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total transaction of $20,062.50.
• 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 transaction of $19,957.50.

First Busey Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of First Busey stock opened at $26.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.79 and a 200-day moving average of $24.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.72. First Busey Corporation has a 52-week low of $21.41 and a 52-week high of $27.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 10.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. First Busey’s payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BUSE shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in First Busey by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,746,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $184,301,000 after buying an additional 611,090 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Busey by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,078,833 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,575,000 after buying an additional 33,430 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Busey by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,067,210 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,046,000 after buying an additional 194,343 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in First Busey by 36,664.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,510,000 after buying an additional 3,123,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in First Busey by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,941,000 after buying an additional 102,904 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.