3,270 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Acquired by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,270 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $957,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of 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, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ ADP traded up $3.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $313.22. 1,407,682 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,615,934. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $313.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $127.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.42.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing 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.