Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 501,493 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 99,912 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.12% of Automatic Data Processing worth $146,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $77,750,000 after acquiring an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $951,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $293.37. 1,764,377 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,639,009. The company has a market cap of $119.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $298.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.35.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.