Macquarie Group Ltd. Purchases 7,315 Shares of Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI)

Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its position in Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI – Get Rating) by 42.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,315 shares during the quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in Robert Half International were worth $1,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RHI. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Robert Half International in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Robert Half International during the third quarter worth $29,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Robert Half International by 48.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Robert Half International by 85.1% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Robert Half International during the second quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 94.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 3,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.54, for a total value of $278,346.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $872,087.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert W. Glass sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.94, for a total value of $1,011,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 217,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,567,946.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 3,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.54, for a total value of $278,346.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $872,087.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Robert Half International Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE RHI opened at $77.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.80. The company has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.32. Robert Half International Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.40 and a 12-month high of $122.29.

Robert Half International (NYSE:RHI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The business services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Robert Half International had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 9.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Robert Half International Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Robert Half International announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 9th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Robert Half International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a boost from Robert Half International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 23rd. Robert Half International’s payout ratio is currently 31.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Robert Half International from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Robert Half International from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Robert Half International in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Robert Half International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.44.

Robert Half International Company Profile

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Robert Half International, Inc engages in the provision of staffing and risk consulting services. It operates through the following business segments: Temporary and Consultant Staffing, Permanent Placement Staffing, and Risk Consulting and Internal Audit Services. The Temporary and Consultant Staffing segment offers staffing in the accounting and finance, administrative and office, information technology, legal, advertising, marketing, and web design fields.