Unigestion Holding SA Increases Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Unigestion Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 165,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,715 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 2.2% of Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $45,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $302.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $123.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.12 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $295.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.45.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

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.