Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 479,145 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 332.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.15% of Automatic Data Processing worth $172,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,989,000 after buying an additional 435,093 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,912,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,182,000 after purchasing an additional 9,464 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 13.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,296,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $548,099,000 after purchasing an additional 269,986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,464,384.66. This represents a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 3,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $872,254.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,440,548.48. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 70,504 shares of company stock valued at $20,298,056. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $307.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $290.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.03. The company has a market cap of $125.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.12 and a fifty-two week high of $309.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

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.