DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Boosts Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,473 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,721 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Securities raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $1.22 on Wednesday, reaching $309.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,163,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,692,712. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $297.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.