Anthony Meeker Sells 12,000 Shares of Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Stock

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $454,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.05. The stock had a trading volume of 202,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,837. The firm has a market cap of $934.51 million, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.78. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.33 and a 12-month high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $307.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.68 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBSI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 870,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,534,000 after purchasing an additional 208,865 shares in the last quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 648,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,491,000 after purchasing an additional 249,052 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 193,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,994,000 after purchasing an additional 63,854 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 514,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,614,000 after buying an additional 37,947 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $881,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.