Generali Investments Management Co LLC Purchases New Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,634 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,649,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted 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 worth $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $951,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 51.1% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,925 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,236,000 after buying an additional 6,399 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 82,736 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,896,000 after acquiring an additional 8,846 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded down $2.19 on Friday, hitting $295.32. 3,951,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,459,985. The business's 50 day moving average price is $303.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.36. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. 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 capitalization 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.

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Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.