Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,721 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 1.3% of Bellecapital International Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Several brokerages have weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.55.
Check Out Our Latest Report on ADP
ADP stock opened at $315.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $316.46. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $300.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.13.
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. 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 1.95%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.
In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
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.
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