Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stake Boosted by NS Partners Ltd

NS Partners Ltd boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 90,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares during the period. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $25,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 70.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 638,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $152,405,000 after acquiring an additional 264,466 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 247,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,804,000 after purchasing an additional 4,253 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 26,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 5,114 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2,917.1% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 4,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 4,084 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $297.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $121.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.12 and a 52-week high of $309.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. This represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 20.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ADP. Citigroup increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.