First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) EVP John Joseph Powers Purchases 1,005 Shares of Stock

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) EVP John Joseph Powers purchased 1,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.44 per share, with a total value of $20,542.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,276 shares in the company, valued at $312,241.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

First Busey Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $22.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.85. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $16.26 and a one year high of $25.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.76.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 1,143.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at $249,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in First Busey during the 3rd quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in First Busey by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 4,566 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on BUSE shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

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.