Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Sets New 52-Week High Following Insider Buying Activity

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $107.20 and last traded at $107.20, with a volume of 17893 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.99.

Specifically, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby purchased 290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $103.05 per share, with a total value of $29,884.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,594.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby purchased 290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $103.05 per share, with a total value of $29,884.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,594.85. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 1,359 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.83, for a total transaction of $130,232.97. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,506,543.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Barrett Business Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 2.9 %

The company has a market cap of $714.89 million, a PE ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.27.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBSI. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 55,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,275,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 4,307.1% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $529,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.91% of the company’s stock.

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.