Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 277,324 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.00% of Automatic Data Processing worth $11,923,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Napatree Capital LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $393,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 601,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $175,938,000 after acquiring an additional 29,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blueprint Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $632,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.7 %

ADP opened at $295.32 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $303.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.36.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.18.

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.