Winslow Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,355,222 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $396,714,000. Automatic Data Processing makes up 1.4% of Winslow Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Winslow Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Automatic Data Processing at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $708,000. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% in 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 during the period. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 121.7% during the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 12,898 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,776,000 after acquiring an additional 7,080 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,297 shares of company stock valued at $1,307,772. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $2.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $301.81. 559,051 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,668,629. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The company's 50 day moving average price is $302.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.30.

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.