Royal Bank of Canada Sells 91,397 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 93.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 91,397 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,118,000 after purchasing an additional 13,331 shares in the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 999,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,187,000 after buying an additional 12,117 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 870,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,534,000 after buying an additional 208,865 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 821,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,749,000 after buying an additional 109,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 661,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,295,000 after buying an additional 25,221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $132,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,217,330. The trade was a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $454,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barrington Research set a $44.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $34.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.59. The firm has a market cap of $833.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.94. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.04). Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The business had revenue of $319.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.55 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.53%.

Barrett Business Services Profile

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.