Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 6,844 Shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 498,617 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,844 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Robert Half worth $27,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RHI. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Robert Half by 613.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 364 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Robert Half during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Robert Half by 121.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 436 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Robert Half during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Robert Half during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.41% of the company's stock.

Robert Half Stock Up 3.3%

NYSE:RHI opened at $42.52 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $44.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.70. Robert Half Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.61 and a twelve month high of $78.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 1.00.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Robert Half had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 14.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Robert Half's payout ratio is 118.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Robert Half from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Robert Half from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Robert Half from $65.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Robert Half from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Robert Half from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Robert Half presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.71.

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.

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