Capital Research Global Investors Buys 1,299,390 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,299,390 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned 1.51% of Automatic Data Processing worth $1,796,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $708,000. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,068,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $146,581,000 after buying an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $194,117,000 after buying an additional 51,828 shares during the period. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 121.7% in the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 12,898 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,776,000 after acquiring an additional 7,080 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has 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 MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $293.58. 522,946 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,677,419. The company's fifty day moving average is $300.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The stock has a market cap of $119.62 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,775 shares of company stock worth $1,447,893 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.