Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,295,804 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 22,096 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.28% of First Busey worth $33,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,497,004 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,952,000 after acquiring an additional 6,367 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in First Busey by 20.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 947,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,937,000 after purchasing an additional 163,042 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in First Busey by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 694,444 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,069,000 after purchasing an additional 8,083 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 411,749 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,968,000 after buying an additional 6,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of First Busey by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 386,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,351,000 after buying an additional 86,492 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $24.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.55. First Busey Co. has a 1 year low of $21.68 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $170.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of First Busey from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

First Busey Company 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.