Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 66.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,010,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,629,852,000 after purchasing an additional 794,328 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,045,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,157,923,000 after buying an additional 123,725 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,586,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,051,049,000 after buying an additional 822,790 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $1,617,256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,763,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,182,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,153,855,000 after acquiring an additional 20,771 shares during the last quarter. 79.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 7,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.75, for a total value of $1,795,732.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 67,044 shares in the company, valued at $17,079,459. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 17,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.03, for a total transaction of $4,418,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,051,533.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 7,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.75, for a total transaction of $1,795,732.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 67,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,079,459. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 170,089 shares of company stock worth $42,719,064 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $248.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.81. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.46 and a 52-week high of $274.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $245.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 60.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $275.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $267.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Friday, June 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.57.

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.