The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $5.89 Million Stock Holdings in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 453.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 233,061 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 190,957 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in First Busey were worth $5,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 95.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,143 shares of the bank’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 8,884 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Busey by 16.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 198,945 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 28,605 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in First Busey by 64.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in First Busey by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 469,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,137,000 after buying an additional 38,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in First Busey by 78.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,796,000 after buying an additional 97,560 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BUSE shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE opened at $31.37 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.15 and a 200-day moving average of $27.01. First Busey Corporation has a one year low of $21.96 and a one year high of $31.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.59 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s payout ratio is 42.98%.

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.