Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,762 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,637 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Barrett Business Services worth $3,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 6,773 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BBSI shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Barrett Business Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. 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 Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $42.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 92,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,280. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.68 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.02.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.09. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.55% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The business had revenue of $292.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.