30,458 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Bought by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 30,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,916,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 456,027 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s 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 owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.8 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $298.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $298.24 and its 200-day moving average is $279.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.63 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

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.