Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 42,189 Shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,700,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 42,189 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Robert Half worth $824,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RHI. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Robert Half by 106.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 53,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 27,891 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Robert Half by 79.7% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Robert Half during the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Robert Half by 532.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 66,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,476,000 after buying an additional 55,903 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Robert Half by 17.7% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after acquiring an additional 3,281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.41% of the company’s stock.

Robert Half Stock Performance

Shares of RHI opened at $53.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.41. Robert Half Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.55 and a 52-week high of $79.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07 and a beta of 1.22.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.01). Robert Half had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 17.20%. Equities research analysts predict that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Robert Half’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio is 96.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on RHI shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Robert Half from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Robert Half from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upgraded Robert Half from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Robert Half from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.50 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Robert Half from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.92.

About Robert Half

Robert Half Inc provides talent solutions and business consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti segments. The Contract Talent Solutions segment provides contract engagement professionals in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal and administrative, and customer support.