Polaris Capital Management LLC Sells 16,400 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Polaris Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,400 shares during the period. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $2,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 42.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,300,000 after buying an additional 18,414 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 546,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,500,000 after purchasing an additional 88,350 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 236.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,834,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,147 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 705,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,471,000 after acquiring an additional 32,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 29.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 3,960 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BBSI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 4,584 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total transaction of $189,044.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 91,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,778,738.72. This trade represents a 4.76 % 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, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $130,230.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,756.16. The trade was a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $42.86 on Tuesday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.06 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.41.

Barrett Business Services Company 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.