Bessemer Group Inc. Has $71.89 Million Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 245,571 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 35,456 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Automatic Data Processing worth $71,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $396,714,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $910,972,000 after buying an additional 449,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $299.30. The company had a trading volume of 597,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,244. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.93. The company has a market capitalization of $121.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.30.

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.