American Century Companies Inc. Sells 179,527 Shares of First Busey Corporation $BUSE

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,255,819 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 179,527 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.41% of First Busey worth $29,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 2nd quarter valued at $20,113,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in First Busey by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 533,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,342,000 after purchasing an additional 249,908 shares during the period. Bayview Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 173.9% in the second quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 64,385 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 40,876 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in First Busey in the second quarter worth $8,343,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in First Busey by 99.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 933,467 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,362,000 after buying an additional 464,859 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised First Busey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

First Busey Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $25.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.25 and a 200 day moving average of $24.29. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $27.65.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $201.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.70 million. First Busey had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 9.46%. On average, research analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. First Busey’s payout ratio is 80.62%.

First Busey Profile

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.