Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $191.99 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 655,850 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 130,059 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.16% of Automatic Data Processing worth $191,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $293,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $328,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $392,000. Finally, MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded up $9.60 on Tuesday, reaching $294.45. The stock had a trading volume of 611,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,887,324. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $119.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50-day moving average is $300.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.30.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 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, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped 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 note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. Company 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.