Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 44,104 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,275,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 44,104 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up 0.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $663,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after buying an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,972,000 after buying an additional 449,431 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.0 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $302.41 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.96. The company has a market cap of $123.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.