Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 487,018 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 97.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,475 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 487,018 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 41,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,919,000 after buying an additional 5,803 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,263,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $957,000. Finally, WealthPLAN Partners LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.9%

ADP stock opened at $306.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $329.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $308.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.85.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.88 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 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, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

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.