LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 601,025 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,056 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Automatic Data Processing worth $175,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,098,541,000 after acquiring an additional 424,328 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,906,257,000 after purchasing an additional 286,080 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $896,197,000 after purchasing an additional 41,709 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $910,972,000 after purchasing an additional 449,431 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,849 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $679,675,000 after buying an additional 69,042 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $4.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $300.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,785,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,628,056. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The stock has a market cap of $122.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $303.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.20.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business'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 owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.