Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. by 13.3%, now owning approximately 1.54% of the company with a value of $16.27 million.
• Barrett Business Services reported $0.70 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.65, with a revenue increase of 10% year-over-year.
• Shares of Barrett Business Services received an upgrade from Wall Street Zen from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with an average target price now set at $47.00.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 395,406 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 60,533 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.54% of Barrett Business Services worth $16,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 27,831 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 8,403 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 5,807.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,934 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 11,732 shares during the period. Brio Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 78,617 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Barrett Business Services has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $47.00.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of BBSI traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $46.81. 131,977 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,902. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.01. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.81 and a 52-week high of $49.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $307.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.95 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 4.49%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.76%.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In other news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total value of $3,868,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 287,040 shares in the company, valued at $13,878,384. This trade represents a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Gerald Blotz sold 13,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total value of $569,196.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 209,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,930,490.16. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,037 shares of company stock valued at $5,185,368. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Barrett Business Services

Barrett Business Services, Inc provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry.