Bank of Nova Scotia Has $206.11 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 117.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 704,099 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 380,834 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.17% of Automatic Data Processing worth $206,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $455,993,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $319,199,000 after buying an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $910,972,000 after acquiring an additional 449,431 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1,029.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 420,257 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $132,429,000 after acquiring an additional 383,057 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded up $7.33 on Friday, reaching $299.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,187,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,672,843. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $122.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $302.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.72.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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 owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,364 shares of company stock worth $1,613,094 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.