National Bank of Canada FI Trims Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 37.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 378,984 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 228,717 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.09% of Automatic Data Processing worth $110,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $77,750,000 after acquiring an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $194,117,000 after purchasing an additional 51,828 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,368 shares of company stock valued at $1,903,541 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $19.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $286.13. 3,769,208 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,632,999. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.30.

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.