Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 999,237 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,545 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Automatic Data Processing worth $276,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at about $365,757,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 784,003 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $195,797,000 after purchasing an additional 552,096 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $964,989,000 after purchasing an additional 435,093 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP traded up $2.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $308.88. The stock had a trading volume of 689,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,629,945. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.09 and a twelve month high of $309.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.74, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company's 50-day moving average price is $284.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.46.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

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.