BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Boosts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 393,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,167 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $93,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,769,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,932,020,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,492,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,279,570,000 after buying an additional 249,566 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,625,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $905,354,000 after buying an additional 81,869 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 27.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,715,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $678,601,000 after buying an additional 589,831 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $610,182,000 after acquiring an additional 9,464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total value of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 88,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,959,908.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of ADP stock traded up $2.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $275.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,548,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,644,018. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $276.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $252.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.80.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.36.

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.