Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 114.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,052 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Barrett Business Services worth $2,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 152.6% during the 4th quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BBSI. Zacks Research raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total value of $454,200.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,217,330. This represents a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $39.04 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.11. The stock has a market cap of $958.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.94. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.33 and a fifty-two week high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.02. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The company had revenue of $307.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

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.