Utah Retirement Systems Boosts Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $19,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position 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 worth $1,796,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,390 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $342,942,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after buying an additional 1,087,814 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the 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 $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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. Insiders have sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893 in the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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 upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price target on 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 downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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, April 24th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $295.77 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.53. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The company has a market cap of $120.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.