Board of the Pension Protection Fund Invests $1.05 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,600 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,054,000. Automatic Data Processing makes up 1.2% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,426 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,682,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 13.6% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 23,508 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,621,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,044,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 237.6% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,728 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded up $1.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $293.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,764,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,639,009. The company has a market capitalization of $119.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The business's 50-day moving average is $298.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

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.