Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Trims Stake

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its ADP stake by 5.7% in the third quarter, selling 17,255 shares and ending the period with 285,556 shares valued at about $73.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 80% of the stock.
• ADP beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $2.82 versus $2.77 expected and revenue of $5.49 billion; revenue increased 6.1% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $285. The stock opened at $302.06 in the article’s reported session.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 285,556 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 17,255 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.07% of Automatic Data Processing worth $73,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Verus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $204,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,819 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,534,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Plancorp LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,237 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 36,444 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,405,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ADP shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $248.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $286.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $336.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $287.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $285.00.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $302.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $279.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.14. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.16 and a twelve month high of $310.98.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.48 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 20.33% and a return on equity of 77.01%. Automatic Data Processing's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 29,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $8,373,927.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 80,624 shares in the company, valued at $22,648,087.84. This represents a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Jonathan Lehberger sold 770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.35, for a total value of $231,269.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 4,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,036.35. This represents a 13.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,207 shares of company stock worth $14,522,300. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) provides payroll processing and human resources technology and services to businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll administration, tax filing, benefits administration, workforce management, talent management, and human capital management software.

ADP also provides services such as compliance support and professional employer organization solutions, which help businesses manage employment responsibilities. Its products combine software with payroll and HR services to support organizations' workforce operations.

Founded in 1949 as Automatic Payrolls, Inc, the company has grown from a payroll-processing business into a global provider of HR and workforce solutions.

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