Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 491,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,122 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Robert Half were worth $34,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Robert Half by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,681,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $315,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,005 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Robert Half by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,343,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,534,000 after purchasing an additional 225,210 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Robert Half by 41.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,027,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,276,000 after purchasing an additional 303,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Robert Half by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 613,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,373,000 after purchasing an additional 151,261 shares in the last quarter. 92.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Robert Half

In related news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 1,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $76,729.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $915,248.50. This trade represents a 7.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Robert Half Stock Performance

NYSE RHI opened at $60.00 on Friday. Robert Half Inc. has a one year low of $57.05 and a one year high of $83.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 1.23.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.53 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Robert Half’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.89%.

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.