California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 495 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,893 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 495 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of First Busey worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 822.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 507.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $22.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. First Busey Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.99.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. Analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,509 shares in the company, valued at $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $119,350.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 72,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. The trade was a 8.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 14,825 shares of company stock worth $323,038. 3.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.