Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 41,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,803 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $11,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $308.15 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $311.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $297.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.77. The stock has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % 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 David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.