Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 228,476 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,670 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina owned 0.06% of Automatic Data Processing worth $66,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $708,000. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,068,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $146,581,000 after buying an additional 22,766 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $194,117,000 after buying an additional 51,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 121.7% in the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 12,898 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,776,000 after purchasing an additional 7,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

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Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $3.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $298.50. The company had a trading volume of 641,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,472. The stock has a market cap of $121.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The business's 50-day moving average is $302.25 and its 200-day moving average is $297.93. 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 issued its 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%. Equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $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 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.