Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,000 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $38,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 83,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,077 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 97,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $304.67 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $297.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.