MUFG Securities EMEA plc Acquires New Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 98,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,913,000. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 1.3% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,321,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22,539.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 934,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $217,670,000 after purchasing an additional 930,199 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 40.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,128,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $752,703,000 after purchasing an additional 905,043 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 65.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,402,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,416,000 after purchasing an additional 555,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 18.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,576,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $855,287,000 after purchasing an additional 553,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $2.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $248.90. 973,940 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,279,904. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.53 and a twelve month high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The company had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.52 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.42.

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.