Equitable Trust Co. Sells 9,740 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. reduced its stake in Barrett Business Services by 27.6%, selling a total of 9,740 shares, ultimately owning 25,595 shares valued at approximately $1,053,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider transactions showed that COO Gerald Blotz sold 13,327 shares and Director Anthony Meeker sold 7,380 shares, resulting in a decrease of 5.99% and 11.74% in their respective ownership stakes.
• Barrett Business Services declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08, reflecting a 0.70% yield, and reported revenue growth of 10.1% year-over-year with earnings topping analysts' expectations.

Equitable Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 27.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,595 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,740 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. owned about 0.10% of Barrett Business Services worth $1,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,110,550 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $91,682,000 after purchasing an additional 276,098 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 528,243 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,737,000 after purchasing an additional 10,627 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 393,267 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,084,000 after purchasing an additional 15,900 shares in the last quarter. 4D Advisors LLC bought a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter worth about $5,430,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,849,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Barrett Business Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total value of $526,280.40. Following the sale, the director owned 91,628 shares in the company, valued at $3,903,352.80. This represents a 11.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 7,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total transaction of $310,993.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 55,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,338,938.56. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,061 shares of company stock valued at $1,406,470. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:BBSI traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.68. The stock had a trading volume of 34,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,449. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.99. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.77 and a 12 month high of $46.87.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $292.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.91 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 24.55%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.41%.

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.