Signaturefd LLC Acquires 1,439 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 257.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,998 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in First Busey were worth $48,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. EMC Capital Management increased its stake in First Busey by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in First Busey by 4.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 48,247 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 14.7% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 17,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE stock opened at $26.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. First Busey Co. has a 1 year low of $17.51 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.90 and a 200 day moving average of $23.99. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 0.85.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $116.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.65 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.60.

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.