Royce & Associates LP Trims Stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Royce & Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 772,590 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 39,869 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 3.01% of Barrett Business Services worth $31,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,110,550 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $91,682,000 after buying an additional 276,098 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 2.1% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 4.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 4D Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth about $5,430,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth about $3,849,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $526,280.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 91,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,903,352.80. This represents a 11.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Gerald Blotz sold 13,327 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.71, for a total value of $569,196.17. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 209,096 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,490.16. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,061 shares of company stock worth $1,406,470 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

BBSI stock traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $46.52. 217,006 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 140,960. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.77 and a 12 month high of $46.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.99.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.09. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 24.55% and a net margin of 4.45%. The company had revenue of $292.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. Barrett Business Services's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 is presently 16.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BBSI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Barrett Business Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

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.