Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 25,000 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. by 5.3%, selling 25,000 shares, leaving it with 450,000 shares valued at approximately $18.5 million.
• Recent insider transactions include COO Gerald Blotz and Director Thomas J. Carley selling a combined total of 33,061 shares of the company's stock in the past three months.
• Barrett Business Services reported revenue growth of 10.1% year-over-year, achieving $292.6 million, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 450,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. Barrett Business Services makes up approximately 1.1% of Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 1.75% of Barrett Business Services worth $18,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $21,737,000 after acquiring an additional 10,627 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $645,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. CWC Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 10,753 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 23,827 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gerald Blotz sold 13,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total transaction of $569,196.17. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 209,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,930,490.16. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,354 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 91,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,903,352.80. The trade was a 11.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,061 shares of company stock worth $1,406,470 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBSI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Barrett Business Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ BBSI opened at $45.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.99. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a one year low of $31.77 and a one year high of $46.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.62.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $292.60 million during 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%. Barrett Business Services's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.41%.

Barrett Business Services 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.

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