First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael David Cassens Sells 1,441 Shares of Stock

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.12, for a total value of $41,961.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 128,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,743,987.52. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Michael David Cassens also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 15th, Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of First Busey stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $43,878.45.
• On Monday, August 17th, Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of First Busey stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.08, for a total value of $44,786.28.

First Busey Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:BUSE traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $29.43. 728,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,641. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.12 and a 52 week high of $31.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.70.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.59 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in First Busey by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 129,483 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 35,019 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Busey by 5.6% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,024 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in First Busey by 161.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 19,473 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in First Busey during the second quarter valued at approximately $242,000. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BUSE shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research note on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered First Busey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Its principal subsidiary, Busey Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, institutions and municipalities.

Busey Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, treasury management, trust services and other financial solutions. Through Busey Wealth Management, the company also provides investment management, financial planning, private banking and fiduciary services.