Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Invests $1.29 Million in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 54,909 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,294,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of First Busey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in First Busey by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,497,004 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,952,000 after acquiring an additional 6,367 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Busey by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,295,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 22,096 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Busey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,879 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in First Busey by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,287 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,549,000 after purchasing an additional 39,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in First Busey by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 322,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $22.08 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.96. First Busey Co. has a 1-year low of $21.20 and a 1-year high of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.84.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. Analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BUSE shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Busey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

About First Busey

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.