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 business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 1.7%

BBSI stock opened at $37.39 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.79. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.33 and a 1 year high of $49.65. The stock has a market cap of $918.30 million, a PE ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.95.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted 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. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The company had revenue of $307.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. Barrett Business Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is currently 20.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth about $3,747,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,732,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 71.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,085 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 40.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 37,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 10,994 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.