Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 1,718 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,018 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,718 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the third quarter worth $34,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Continental Investors Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $39.44 on Friday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.42 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.12.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.08%.

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.