Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $276.52 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 999,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,545 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $276,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $306.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $284.74 and a 200-day moving average of $262.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.74, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $226.09 and a fifty-two week high of $308.54.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.