Swedbank AB Cuts Position in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Swedbank AB lowered its holdings in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) by 70.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 217,995 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.09% of Robert Half worth $6,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RHI. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Robert Half by 28.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,049,005 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Robert Half by 14.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,749,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $296,963,000 after purchasing an additional 479,384 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Robert Half by 5.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,285,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $221,442,000 after purchasing an additional 159,750 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Robert Half by 101.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,564,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,439,000 after buying an additional 786,031 shares in the last quarter. 92.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Robert Half from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Insider Activity

In other Robert Half news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 1,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $915,248.50. This represents a 7.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Robert Half Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE RHI opened at $74.70 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.55 and a 200 day moving average of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.26 and a beta of 1.23. Robert Half Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.05 and a 12-month high of $88.39.

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

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.37%.

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.