Swedbank AB Has $69.22 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,457 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.06% of Automatic Data Processing worth $69,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 43,305 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,343,000 after buying an additional 3,151 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 850,550 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $203,018,000 after purchasing an additional 56,767 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,698,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,589,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.8 %

ADP traded up $2.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $303.03. 474,734 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,669,761. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67. The firm has a market cap of $123.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $297.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.77.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $291.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.