Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,010,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,629,852,000 after purchasing an additional 794,328 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,670,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,085,849,000 after acquiring an additional 198,008 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 94,265.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,770,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,617,256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,763,553 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,902,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,420,028,000 after acquiring an additional 288,234 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,242,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,261,327,000 after acquiring an additional 77,187 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total transaction of $173,104.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,159,958.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total value of $173,104.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,159,958.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $242.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $99.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $247.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.18. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.46 and a 1-year high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ADP. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wolfe Research raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

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.