MML Investors Services LLC Has $14.49 Million Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,513 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,216 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $14,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,923,265,000 after purchasing an additional 277,324 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,583,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,098,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,965 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,796,415,000 after buying an additional 1,299,390 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,886,552 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,137,710,000 after buying an additional 219,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $910,972,000 after buying an additional 449,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $292.89 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $300.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.26. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $119.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,775 shares of company stock worth $1,447,893. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.

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