JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 82,394 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 21.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 299,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 82,394 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.16% of Barrett Business Services worth $12,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the first quarter valued at $75,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth about $163,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 3,939.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, COO Gerald Blotz sold 11,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.08, for a total transaction of $537,477.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 197,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,097,666.56. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.83 per share, for a total transaction of $34,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,068.53. This trade represents a 6.95% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BBSI opened at $34.53 on Monday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.01 and a 1-year high of $49.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.65. The company has a market cap of $884.66 million, a PE ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.02). Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The company had revenue of $318.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $319.27 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. Barrett Business Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on BBSI shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Barrington Research set a $46.00 price target on Barrett Business Services and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Barrett Business Services currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

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.