Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Position in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 204,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Robert Half worth $14,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Robert Half by 142.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 11,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 6,863 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Robert Half by 6.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 43,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Robert Half in the 3rd quarter worth about $273,000. LMR Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 12,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Robert Half by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 135,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,167,000 after buying an additional 2,846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Robert Half from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Robert Half from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Robert Half from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Robert Half from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Robert Half from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.92.

Robert Half Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Robert Half stock opened at $54.54 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.87. Robert Half Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.55 and a 12-month high of $81.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 1.22.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.01). Robert Half had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 4.34%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Robert Half’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Robert Half Company 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.