Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Makes New $33.62 Million Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 114,857 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $33,622,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $708,000. Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,068,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $146,581,000 after buying an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $194,117,000 after buying an additional 51,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 121.7% in the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 12,898 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,776,000 after buying an additional 7,080 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ADP shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of 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 shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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 raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $293.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,667,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,728. The stock's 50-day moving average is $301.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock worth $1,447,893. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.