Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases New Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 51,549 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,090,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.7 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $2.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $295.32. The company had a trading volume of 3,951,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,460,596. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $303.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.22. The firm has a market cap of $120.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84.

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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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.18.

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.