Generali Investments Management Co LLC Increases Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 30.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,373 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Main Street Group LTD raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $326.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,183,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,707,991. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $329.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.08, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $305.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.43.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS 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 company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.88 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.05%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.