Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 62.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,039 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $1,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,118,000 after purchasing an additional 13,331 shares during the period. Private Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 999,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,187,000 after buying an additional 12,117 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 870,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,534,000 after buying an additional 208,865 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 821,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,749,000 after buying an additional 109,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 652,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,627,000 after buying an additional 2,976 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total value of $454,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,701,168.25. This trade represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $132,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,217,330. This trade represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,779 shares of company stock worth $786,233. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

BBSI opened at $39.04 on Friday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.33 and a 12 month high of $49.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $958.82 million, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.15.

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

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is presently 20.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BBSI. Zacks Research upgraded 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barrett Business Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Profile

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.