Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Bought by ST Germain D J Co. Inc.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,149 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ADP. State Street Corp boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,906,257,000 after buying an additional 286,080 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $964,989,000 after buying an additional 435,093 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $846,912,000 after acquiring an additional 139,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,197,000 after acquiring an additional 41,709 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ADP traded down $3.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $288.39. The stock had a trading volume of 640,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,184,214. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $117.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.85.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,062 shares of company stock valued at $12,299,550. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions.