Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 8,925 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,243 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,925 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.33% of Barrett Business Services worth $3,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BBSI. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 272.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,631,644 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $70,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193,839 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,110,550 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $91,682,000 after purchasing an additional 276,098 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,849,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 valued at $20,500,000 after buying an additional 88,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tieton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC now owns 251,628 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,931,000 after acquiring an additional 47,447 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BBSI shares. StockNews.com upgraded Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

BBSI traded down $0.60 on Wednesday, reaching $40.78. The company had a trading volume of 187,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,193. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.68 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.34.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.09. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 4.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Barrett Business Services's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Barrett Business Services's payout ratio is currently 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.