Natixis Raises Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Natixis increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1,154.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 138,588 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $44,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 25,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,362,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,946,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,796,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,390 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $422,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $293.28 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84. The stock has a market cap of $119.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $301.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.11.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its 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, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.