Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 16,339 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 454,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,339 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.11% of Automatic Data Processing worth $133,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,976 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after buying an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 12.9% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.2% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 12,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,400,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 331.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centric Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 10,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.5 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $300.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $122.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $303.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $296.20.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.