Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd significantly reduced its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 78.5%, selling 8,319 shares, resulting in ownership of just 2,277 shares valued at $94,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Deutsche Bank AG and GAMMA Investing LLC, increased their investments in Barrett Business Services, indicating ongoing interest in the stock.
• Barrett Business Services reported earnings of ($0.04) EPS, beating analysts' expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.1%.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 78.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,277 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,319 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $94,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 10.0% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,400 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 6,773 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.04. The stock had a trading volume of 184,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,118. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.99. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.77 and a 1 year high of $46.90.

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

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.41%.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 7,380 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director directly owned 55,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,938.56. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Gerald Blotz sold 13,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total value of $569,196.17. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 209,096 shares in the company, 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 33,061 shares of company stock worth $1,406,470. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.