Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 35,361 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Key Points

• Vanguard reduced its stake in Barrett Business Services by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 35,361 shares and leaving it with about 1.51 million shares valued at roughly $54.8 million.
• Barrett Business Services beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.13 per share on revenue of $307.01 million, with sales up 4.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, payable June 5, for an annualized yield of about 1.1%.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,514,252 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 35,361 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 5.91% of Barrett Business Services worth $54,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 270.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,999 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 192.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,266 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $30.04 on Friday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.33 and a 1-year high of $49.65. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.26 and its 200 day moving average is $33.50. The company has a market cap of $737.78 million, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.97.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The company had revenue of $307.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BBSI. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised Barrett Business Services from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Barrett Business Services from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Insider Activity

In other Barrett Business Services news, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total value of $51,710.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $970,445.16. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary Kramer purchased 8,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.89 per share, with a total value of $225,069.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 328,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,841,458.89. This represents a 2.61% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Barrett Business Services

Barrett Business Services, Inc NASDAQ: BBSI is a professional employer organization (PEO) headquartered in Northridge, California. Founded in 1971 by Barrett K. Levesque, the company provides comprehensive human resources outsourcing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. Through its consultative model, Barrett Business Services helps clients streamline administrative processes, mitigate regulatory risk and focus on core operations.

The company's core offerings include payroll administration, employee benefits management, workers' compensation and risk management services.

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