Meeder Asset Management Inc. Raises Position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 161.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in First Busey were worth $40,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,115,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,498,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,825,000 after purchasing an additional 189,115 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 65.8% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 292,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,883,000 after buying an additional 115,864 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in First Busey by 168.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 149,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,884,000 after buying an additional 93,733 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,838 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Busey Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $21.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.57. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $21.13 and a 52-week high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BUSE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.