Temasek Holdings Private Ltd Raises Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 14.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,158 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 21,005 shares during the quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $45,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:ADP traded up $3.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $305.06. 658,908 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,634,052. The company has a market cap of $124.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $227.12 and a one year high of $309.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $294.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.52.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. Automatic Data Processing's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.