Towle & Co. Sells 32,036 Shares of First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Towle & Co. reduced its holdings in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 127,979 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 32,036 shares during the quarter. Towle & Co.’s holdings in First Busey were worth $3,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 611,090 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Busey by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,067,210 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,046,000 after acquiring an additional 194,343 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in First Busey by 36,664.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,510,000 after acquiring an additional 3,123,454 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in First Busey by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,941,000 after purchasing an additional 102,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in First Busey by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,314,576 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,274,000 after purchasing an additional 145,681 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In related news, CAO Scott A. Phillips purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief accounting officer owned 8,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,265. This represents a 149.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Down 0.1%

BUSE opened at $29.56 on Friday. First Busey Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $30.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.72.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 19.16%.The business had revenue of $197.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.15 million. As a group, research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders 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 (DPR) is currently 46.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BUSE shares. Wall Street Zen cut First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.