Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Takes Position in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC bought a new position in Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Robert Half by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 9,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Robert Half by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Robert Half by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 3,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Robert Half by 7.3% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Robert Half by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on RHI shares. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Robert Half in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Robert Half in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Robert Half from $63.00 to $53.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on shares of Robert Half from $63.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Robert Half from $88.00 to $82.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.22.

Robert Half Stock Performance

RHI opened at $73.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.62 and a 200-day moving average of $74.61. Robert Half Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.65 and a fifty-two week high of $89.78. The company has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 1.32.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Robert Half had a return on equity of 34.51% and a net margin of 7.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Robert Half Inc. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 25th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Robert Half’s payout ratio is 38.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 2,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.15, for a total value of $152,007.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $959,056.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Robert W. Glass sold 14,751 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total transaction of $1,108,537.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 209,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,776,014.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 2,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.15, for a total value of $152,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,056.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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 three segments: Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti. 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.