Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 236,457 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.06% of Automatic Data Processing worth $69,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have 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 in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd 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 lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $300.57 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $283.65. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $122.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other 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 transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.