Bellecapital International Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bellecapital International Ltd. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 1.3% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth approximately $365,757,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $678,601,000 after acquiring an additional 589,831 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 238.1% during 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. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $964,989,000 after acquiring an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $2.76 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $289.53. 160,235 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,969. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $276.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $256.99. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.53 and a 1 year high of $294.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $267.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.