ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 249,908 Shares of First Busey Corporation $BUSE

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 533,142 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 249,908 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.60% of First Busey worth $12,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in First Busey by 4.6% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,965 shares of the bank’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,237 shares of the bank’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 8,745 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,913 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in First Busey by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 78,377 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,794,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $26.45 on Thursday. First Busey Corporation has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $27.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.92. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.78.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $201.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.70 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 12.96%. On average, research analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, President Mike Maddox acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.52 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,250 shares of company stock worth $54,398 over the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.