National Pension Service Has $154.84 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

National Pension Service lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 664,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,635 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.16% of Automatic Data Processing worth $154,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.42.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total value of $173,104.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,687 shares in the company, valued at $5,159,958.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total transaction of $173,104.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,159,958.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,966 shares of company stock valued at $749,524 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.9 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $242.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,133,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,774,157. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

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.