Scientech Research LLC Acquires New Position in Robert Half Inc. $RHI

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake of 12,149 shares in Robert Half Inc., valued at approximately $663,000, in the first quarter.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reduced its price objective for Robert Half shares from $47.00 to $45.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, while Wall Street Zen raised their rating from "sell" to "hold."
• Robert Half announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, reflecting a dividend yield of 6.6%, with a payout ratio of 134.86%.

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 12,149 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RHI. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Robert Half by 540.8% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 487 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Robert Half in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Robert Half in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Robert Half by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 825 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Robert Half by 80.4% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,458 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.41% of the company's stock.

Robert Half Stock Performance

RHI traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.49. 996,664 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,505,300. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.39. Robert Half Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $78.41.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Robert Half had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 13.00%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. Robert Half's payout ratio is 134.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RHI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Robert Half from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Robert Half from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Robert Half currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.83.

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.