Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 337,013 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 17,511 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in First Busey were worth $8,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 87,257 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in First Busey by 257.4% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 1.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,602 shares of the bank’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $389,328.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at $9,092,960.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $389,328.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $143,358.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,088.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 264 shares of company stock worth $5,319 and have sold 22,790 shares worth $536,477. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BUSE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

First Busey Stock Performance

First Busey stock opened at $26.33 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. First Busey Co. has a 52 week low of $17.51 and a 52 week high of $28.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.84.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. First Busey had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The business had revenue of $116.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.65 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.48%.

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.