Insider Selling: First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) CEO Sells 16,539 Shares of Stock

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $389,328.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at $9,092,960.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

First Busey Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ BUSE traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $23.88. The company had a trading volume of 136,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,187. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.03 and its 200 day moving average is $23.30. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $17.51 and a 52-week high of $25.80.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). First Busey had a net margin of 18.08% and a return on equity of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $110.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.06 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1,143.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management grew 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 valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of First Busey by 4.5% during the 1st 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 raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 17,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% 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.