Studio Investment Management LLC Purchases 10,837 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 883.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,064 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,837 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Busey were worth $292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Busey by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 636,619 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,801,000 after purchasing an additional 31,442 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of First Busey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,278,444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,224 shares during the period. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Busey by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 51,615 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth about $238,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE opened at $26.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.07 and a 200-day moving average of $24.08. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.84. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $17.51 and a one year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.18%. The firm had revenue of $116.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.65 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $143,358.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,107,088.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $389,328.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $143,358.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,088.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 264 shares of company stock worth $5,319 and have sold 22,790 shares worth $536,477. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

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.