SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 567,664 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 811.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 637,601 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 567,664 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 0.6% of SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Automatic Data Processing worth $194,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Sentinus LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,686 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 593 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,572 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,266,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's 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 approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business's 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $2.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $312.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,323,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,702,953. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.82. The company has a market capitalization of $126.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. 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.