Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. by 4.4% in Q1, now owning over 2.3 million shares valued at approximately $725.8 million.
• Automatic Data Processing recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.26, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a revenue increase of 6.3% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.54, yielding 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 61.72%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,375,432 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 99,505 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.59% of Automatic Data Processing worth $725,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $957,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,268,211 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $371,243,000 after purchasing an additional 7,082 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 2,306 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 158.1% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 11,310 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,928 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $3.23 during trading on Monday, hitting $302.58. 437,993 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,744,968. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $122.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $308.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.54. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $258.63 and a 52-week high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.05 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.84% and a return on equity of 72.84%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 61.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $314.33.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.