Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by KKM Financial LLC

KKM Financial LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 1.3% of KKM Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. KKM Financial LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,923,265,000 after purchasing an additional 277,324 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,583,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,098,305,000 after acquiring an additional 65,965 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,174,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,807,438,000 after acquiring an additional 902,354 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,796,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,886,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,137,710,000 after acquiring an additional 219,032 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $308.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $125.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.24.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 63.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.