Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Holdings in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 158,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 162,924 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.15% of Robert Half worth $10,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RHI. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Robert Half by 28.9% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,681,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $315,569,000 after buying an additional 1,049,005 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Robert Half by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,285,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $221,442,000 after purchasing an additional 159,750 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Robert Half by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,628,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $104,218,000 after purchasing an additional 575,879 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Robert Half by 101.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,564,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,439,000 after purchasing an additional 786,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Robert Half by 17.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,542,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,687,000 after purchasing an additional 231,129 shares during the period. 92.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Robert Half Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of RHI opened at $71.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $72.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.71. Robert Half Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.05 and a twelve month high of $88.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03 and a beta of 1.24.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. Robert Half had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 4.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RHI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Robert Half from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BNP Paribas cut Robert Half from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Robert Half from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Robert Half has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.00.

Insider Activity at Robert Half

In related news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 1,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $76,729.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,310 shares in the company, valued at $915,248.50. This represents a 7.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Robert Half Profile

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.