Cwm LLC Purchases 2,711 Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Cwm LLC boosted its position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 103.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,322 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,711 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in First Busey were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,500,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,503,000 after acquiring an additional 110,895 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,825,000 after acquiring an additional 189,115 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 642,397 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,141,000 after acquiring an additional 36,531 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 121.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,317,000 after acquiring an additional 309,301 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 468,608 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,122,000 after acquiring an additional 106,806 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BUSE shares. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.17.

First Busey Price Performance

First Busey stock opened at $22.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.09 and a 200-day moving average of $22.59.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.91 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.42%. First Busey’s payout ratio is presently 89.29%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $119,350.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 72,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,394.40. This trade represents a 35.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 15,625 shares of company stock valued at $344,273. Insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

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.