Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Holdings Cut by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,984 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $70,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $957,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,028,000 after buying an additional 5,299 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 924,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,626,000 after buying an additional 168,972 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $298.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $310.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $303.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The stock has a market cap of $121.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ADP. Mizuho raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.08.

Automatic Data Processing 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.