Machina Capital S.A.S. Raises Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 252.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,299 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,661 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 0.8% of Machina Capital S.A.S.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $957,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 13,235 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,875,000 after buying an additional 4,654 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 126.2% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $308.63. 936,145 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,343,466. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $311.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $304.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.49 and a 1-year high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 77.33% and a net margin of 19.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group decreased 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, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.62.

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.