Avanza Fonder AB Buys New Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 30,458 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,916,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 21,106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,178,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,969 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 156,533 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,791,000 after buying an additional 36,685 shares during the last quarter. RDA Financial Network bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $1,508,000. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 886 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company'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 owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.0 %

ADP traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $296.18. 2,405,360 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,454,451. The company has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $309.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.99.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ADP. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.91.

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.