Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,148 Shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,148 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Robert Half were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Robert Half by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 44,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,134,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Robert Half by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 11,475 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Robert Half during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,491,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 515,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,289,000 after buying an additional 119,443 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Robert Half by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 56,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,955,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares during the period. 92.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Robert Half Price Performance

NYSE:RHI opened at $45.40 on Friday. Robert Half Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.97 and a 1-year high of $78.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.25 and a 200 day moving average of $64.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.01). Robert Half had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 17.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Robert Half Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Robert Half’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.20%. Robert Half’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on RHI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Robert Half from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Robert Half from $90.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Robert Half from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Robert Half from $80.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Robert Half from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Robert Half presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.92.

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.