Nordea Investment Management AB Reduces Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Nordea Investment Management AB cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,604,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 477,017 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.39% of Automatic Data Processing worth $470,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $291.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $118.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.