KBC Group NV Raises Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 90,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,210 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $26,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $298.31 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $297.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.23. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $121.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

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.