M&T Bank Corp Acquires 528 Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,069 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in First Busey were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in First Busey by 1,173.5% during 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 during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in First Busey by 161.1% during 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 during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 822.7% during 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 during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in First Busey by 507.5% during 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 during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $119,350.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 72,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,563,875.60. The trade was a 8.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Caple acquired 1,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at $97,394.40. This trade represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 13,125 shares of company stock worth $286,148. Corporate insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $24.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.55. First Busey Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 8.32%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

First Busey Profile

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.