Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 49.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 184,509 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 61,238 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $51,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $195,797,000 after acquiring an additional 552,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $153,749,000 after acquiring an additional 456,027 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.8 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $5.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $301.99. 1,480,380 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,634,039. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.23. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.12 and a 12-month high of $309.37. The firm has a market cap of $123.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 20.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $289.91.

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.