Macquarie Group Ltd. Has $1.65 Million Stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Macquarie Group Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE – Get Rating) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,400 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 677 shares during the quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. owned about 0.13% of First Busey worth $1,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Busey by 125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in First Busey in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. FMR LLC grew its position in First Busey by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in First Busey by 252.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other news, Director George Barr sold 11,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.65, for a total transaction of $271,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 79,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,213.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director George Barr sold 11,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.65, for a total value of $271,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 79,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,213.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Van A. Dukeman acquired 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.86 per share, for a total transaction of $102,870.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,709.74. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 9,500 shares of company stock valued at $217,380 and sold 35,299 shares valued at $873,333. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $22.45 on Friday. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $21.54 and a 52-week high of $27.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.26 and a 200-day moving average of $24.39.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 20th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 19th. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 41.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BUSE. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 30th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of First Busey from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Busey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th.

First Busey Company Profile

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First Busey Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services through its wholly-owned bank subsidiary. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Remittance Processing, and Wealth Management. The Banking segment offers a range of services to individual and corporate customers through its banking center network.