Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,662 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,297 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.72% of Barrett Business Services worth $7,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PDT Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 43.5% during the first quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 16,779 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 5,085 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the first quarter valued at about $163,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter worth about $722,000. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 38,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 113.9% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 16,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 8,816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,064 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.64, for a total value of $145,968.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,323,248.64. This trade represents a 9.94% 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 that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total transaction of $569,196.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 209,096 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,490.16. This represents a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 109,037 shares of company stock valued at $5,185,368. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:BBSI traded down $0.47 on Friday, hitting $46.84. The stock had a trading volume of 175,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.01. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.81 and a 1 year high of $49.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $46.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.73.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $307.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.95 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 24.59%. The company's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. Analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research upped their target price 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 report on Sunday, September 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.