Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $7.61 Million Stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 322,813 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,413 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of First Busey worth $7,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in First Busey by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 191,934 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,994,000 after purchasing an additional 9,782 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in First Busey by 145.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,954 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 17,155 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at $348,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 482,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,462,503.10. This represents a 0.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $22.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. First Busey Co. has a 1-year low of $21.20 and a 1-year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. Research analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. This is a positive change from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

About First Busey

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.