Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $3.49 Million Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,492,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,796,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,390 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $342,942,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,199,000 after buying an additional 1,087,814 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Securities upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $309.41 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. 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 market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $297.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.