Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 127,787 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,176,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Robert Half at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP grew its stake in Robert Half by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 45,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,881,000 after acquiring an additional 26,693 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Robert Half by 16.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 196,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,563,000 after purchasing an additional 27,489 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Robert Half in the second quarter valued at $653,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Robert Half during the second quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Robert Half by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 46,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,963,000 after buying an additional 25,682 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $82,017.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,342 shares in the company, valued at $841,746.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Robert Half Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE RHI opened at $63.14 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.29. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Robert Half had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Robert Half’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Robert Half’s payout ratio is currently 63.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RHI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Robert Half from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Robert Half from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Robert Half from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on Robert Half from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Robert Half from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.86.

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.