Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,196 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $34,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at about $386,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 43.2% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 169 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 38.2% in the second quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth approximately $774,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth $16,589,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ADP. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $267.83.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $283.55 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $283.76. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $269.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $253.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 89.20% and a net margin of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total value of $228,927.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,946. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.