AIA Group Ltd Increases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 23.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,664 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 1.4% of AIA Group Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $33,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 34.7% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 8,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFS Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $242.61. 530,738 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,806,439. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $99.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $247.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.18. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.46 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 65.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

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.