Raymond James Financial Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Robert Half Inc. $RHI

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Robert Half Inc. by 15.7%, holding 185,323 shares after selling 34,527 shares in the first quarter.
• Robert Half's most recent earnings report showed a 0.41 EPS, slightly beating estimates, but revenues were down 7.0% compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, with a yield of 6.3% based on the annualized figures.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI - Free Report) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,323 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 34,527 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.18% of Robert Half worth $10,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Robert Half by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 210,369 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12,673 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Robert Half by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 98,837 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,392,000 after purchasing an additional 18,302 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Robert Half by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 318,511 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,375,000 after purchasing an additional 65,611 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Robert Half during the 1st quarter worth about $674,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Robert Half in the 1st quarter valued at about $15,618,000. Institutional investors own 92.41% of the company's stock.

Robert Half Stock Performance

Shares of Robert Half stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.25. 412,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,716,105. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.55. Robert Half Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $78.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 1.03.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Robert Half had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Robert Half's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Robert Half Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Robert Half's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 134.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RHI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Robert Half from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Robert Half from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.83.

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.