Virtus Fund Advisers LLC Reduces Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Virtus Fund Advisers LLC trimmed its position in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Barrett Business Services comprises 0.5% of Virtus Fund Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth about $353,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $313,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 71,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,117,000 after purchasing an additional 26,637 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BBSI. StockNews.com downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ BBSI opened at $42.42 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.02. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.68 and a 12-month high of $44.97.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.09. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 4.55%. The firm had revenue of $292.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.41%.

About Barrett Business Services

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.