Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 704 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $1,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $68,810,000 after buying an additional 1,289,147 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 281.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 867,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,435,000 after buying an additional 640,508 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 299.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 798,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,167,000 after buying an additional 598,567 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 705,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,471,000 after purchasing an additional 32,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 155.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 535,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,561,000 after purchasing an additional 326,502 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 4,584 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total value of $189,044.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 91,628 shares in the company, valued at $3,778,738.72. The trade was a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby bought 1,635 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $43.01 per share, for a total transaction of $70,321.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $487,174.27. The trade was a 16.87 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock opened at $43.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.26. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $44.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.42.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is 16.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Barrett Business Services 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.