Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,960 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Barrett Business Services worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 259.8% in the second quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 378,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,413,000 after acquiring an additional 273,516 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 155.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 87,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,879,000 after buying an additional 53,405 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 18,414 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 236.4% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,834,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $68,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the second quarter valued at about $758,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $42.81 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.71. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $44.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.42.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,000 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.41, for a total transaction of $130,230.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,205,756.16. The trade was a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby bought 1,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.01 per share, for a total transaction of $70,321.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,174.27. The trade was a 16.87 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.