Seilern Investment Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 47,192 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,815,000. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 0.8% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $296.18. 2,405,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,454,451. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $297.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. 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 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.