Sciencast Management LP Makes New $1.17 Million Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,000. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 0.9% of Sciencast Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 94,265.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,770,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,617,256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,763,553 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $531,416,000. Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22,163.0% in the first quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,740,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 1,732,925 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 902.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,023,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,773,000 after buying an additional 921,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,010,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $733,450,000 after buying an additional 856,540 shares in the last quarter. 79.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $267.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $275.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Friday, June 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.57.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $247.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $101.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $246.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.89. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.46 and a 1-year high of $274.92.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The business services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 107.15% and a net margin of 18.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.98%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.93, for a total transaction of $12,955,334.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 44,859 shares in the company, valued at $11,121,891.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 58,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.42, for a total transaction of $14,740,722.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,233,590.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.93, for a total value of $12,955,334.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,121,891.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 170,089 shares of company stock worth $42,719,064 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.