Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,049 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,975 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $209,000. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $470,000. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,069,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value 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 represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $310.76. 1,600,341 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,606,313. The business has a 50-day moving average of $298.72 and a 200 day moving average of $290.11. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $313.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $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 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

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.