Bank of New York Mellon Corp Makes New Investment in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 169,336 BBSI shares worth approximately $6.0 million, while institutional investors collectively own 86.76% of the company.
• Analyst views remain mixed, but the stock carries an overall “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $41.00; recent actions included downgrades from Zacks Research and Roth Capital.
• Barrett Business Services missed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.52 in EPS versus $0.56 expected and revenue of $319.27 million versus $321.55 million anticipated. The company continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, yielding about 0.9% annually.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 169,336 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,015,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.69% of Barrett Business Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,053 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $71,118,000 after acquiring an additional 13,331 shares during the period. Private Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 999,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,187,000 after buying an additional 12,117 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 870,863 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,534,000 after buying an additional 208,865 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 821,560 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,749,000 after buying an additional 109,069 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 661,181 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,295,000 after buying an additional 25,221 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, EVP James Potts sold 3,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,217,330. The trade was a 9.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $454,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 44,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on BBSI shares. Barrington Research set a $44.00 price objective on Barrett Business Services in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Roth Capital cut shares of Barrett Business Services from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.00.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $33.91 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $36.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.61. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.33 and a fifty-two week high of $49.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $821.98 million, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.92.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $319.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.55 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 20.95%. On average, research analysts expect that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.53%.

Barrett Business Services Profile

Barrett Business Services, Inc NASDAQ: BBSI is a professional employer organization (PEO) headquartered in Northridge, California. Founded in 1971 by Barrett K. Levesque, the company provides comprehensive human resources outsourcing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. Through its consultative model, Barrett Business Services helps clients streamline administrative processes, mitigate regulatory risk and focus on core operations.

The company's core offerings include payroll administration, employee benefits management, workers' compensation and risk management services.

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