Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 6,109 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,946 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,109 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.23% of First Busey worth $3,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $757,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 9.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,287 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,549,000 after acquiring an additional 39,900 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of First Busey by 168.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 149,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,884,000 after purchasing an additional 93,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,295,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 22,096 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Busey Stock Performance

First Busey stock opened at $21.72 on Thursday. First Busey Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.05 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.55.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.60%. This is a positive change from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Busey has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 437,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

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.