122,101 Shares in First Busey Corporation $BUSE Acquired by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 122,101 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,905,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. owned 0.14% of First Busey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 95.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,143 shares of the bank’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 8,884 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 198,945 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 28,605 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in First Busey by 64.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 19,431 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Busey by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 469,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 38,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 78.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 97,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BUSE shares. Stephens started coverage on First Busey in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Busey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.17.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $25.61 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.37. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $27.65. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85 and a beta of 0.72.

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

First Busey Increases Dividend

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

First Busey Company 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.