The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 2,579 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 9.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,171 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,579 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.05% of First Busey worth $730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of First Busey by 22.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,159,907 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,895,000 after purchasing an additional 212,782 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 20.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 947,406 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,937,000 after purchasing an additional 163,042 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in First Busey by 28.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 386,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,351,000 after buying an additional 86,492 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in First Busey by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,359,080 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,686,000 after buying an additional 72,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in First Busey by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,552,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,537,000 after buying an additional 57,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Price Performance

First Busey stock opened at $24.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.84. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $17.51 and a one year high of $28.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.50. 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 (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $116.65 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BUSE shares. Stephens lowered First Busey from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. DA Davidson increased their price target on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.80.

First Busey 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.