Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 4,094 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 223,878 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,094 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.05% of Automatic Data Processing worth $65,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Next Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 993 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,649,000. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,731 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 27,888 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,167,000 after purchasing an additional 8,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $3.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $298.89. 1,709,089 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,460,980. The stock has a market cap of $121.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $303.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.50. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. UBS Group lifted 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.18.

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.