Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 8,912 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,912 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $52,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 13,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,907,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $342,942,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $484,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 89,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,287,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 117,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,518,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $310.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $301.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $293.19. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. 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 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.