JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Stock Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 30.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 207,184 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 92,040 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.81% of Barrett Business Services worth $9,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BBSI. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 821,045.1% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 418,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,562,000 after acquiring an additional 418,733 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,901,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $84,271,000 after acquiring an additional 324,715 shares during the period. Trigran Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 121.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 399,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,714,000 after acquiring an additional 219,049 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,536,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1,176.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 123,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,484,000 after buying an additional 114,051 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of BBSI opened at $29.36 on Monday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.33 and a 52-week high of $49.65. The stock has a market cap of $739.87 million, a PE ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.80.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.43 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.39% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BBSI. CJS Securities raised shares of Barrett Business Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Barrington Research reduced their price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Roth Mkm cut their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In other news, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 33,837 shares in the company, valued at $970,445.16. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary Kramer purchased 8,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought 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. The trade was a 2.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.