King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 60.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 280,927 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 427,434 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in First Busey were worth $6,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the third quarter valued at $477,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,078,833 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,575,000 after buying an additional 33,430 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in First Busey by 6.2% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 91,723 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 5,366 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in First Busey by 88.2% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 533,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,342,000 after purchasing an additional 249,908 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,588 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 5,132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Performance

BUSE stock opened at $26.21 on Friday. First Busey Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $27.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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

First Busey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. First Busey’s payout ratio is presently 80.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. 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.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Mike Maddox acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.52 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the president directly owned 40,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,945.60. This trade represents a 2.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 2,250 shares of company stock valued at $57,165 in the last ninety days. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.