Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Decreases Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. by 5.6% during Q1, now holding 0.92% of the company's shares valued at approximately $9.7 million.
• The firm reported $0.70 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations of $0.65, with a revenue of $307.70 million, up 10% year-over-year.
• Barrett Business Services announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, equating to an annual yield of 0.7%, payable on September 5th.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,464 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 14,078 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.92% of Barrett Business Services worth $9,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 528,243 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,737,000 after buying an additional 10,627 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 393,267 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,084,000 after purchasing an additional 15,900 shares during the period. 4D Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,430,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Barrett Business Services by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,243 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,704,000 after buying an additional 8,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Barrett Business Services by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 78,617 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,415,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, COO Gerald Blotz sold 13,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 209,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,930,490.16. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total transaction of $602,202.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 94,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,509,233.04. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,417 shares of company stock valued at $1,628,361 over the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of BBSI stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $48.54. 115,175 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 168,529. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.43 and a 52-week high of $49.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Barrett Business Services's payout ratio is currently 15.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBSI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barrington Research boosted their price target on Barrett Business Services from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Barrett Business Services presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

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.