Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 16,688 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 170,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,688 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $40,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,074,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 10.8% during the second quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 1,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 119,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,426,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 13.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $143,390,000 after acquiring an additional 72,740 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $269.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $110.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $256.39 and its 200 day moving average is $249.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $278.24.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,614 shares of company stock valued at $13,519,460. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.36.

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.