Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI - Free Report) by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,844 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 162,924 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.15% of Robert Half worth $10,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Robert Half by 489.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 389 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Robert Half by 14.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,307 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Robert Half by 8.3% during the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 119,360 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,637,000 after buying an additional 9,173 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Robert Half during the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Robert Half by 7.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,053,730 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $67,418,000 after acquiring an additional 72,965 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.41% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 1,032 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $76,729.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $915,248.50. This trade represents a 7.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Robert Half from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Robert Half from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Robert Half from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Robert Half currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.00.

Robert Half Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RHI traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.32. 1,813,801 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,345,204. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $72.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.73. Robert Half Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.05 and a 12-month high of $88.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03 and a beta of 1.24.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. Robert Half had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 4.84%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Robert Half's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Robert Half Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. Robert Half's payout ratio is 77.37%.

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.