Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Position Boosted by Pensionfund Sabic

Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 29.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after buying an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,749,000 after acquiring an additional 456,027 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $2.72 during trading on Monday, reaching $288.97. The company had a trading volume of 164,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,374. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $117.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $298.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.08. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

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.