Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 21,910 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 236,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,910 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned approximately 0.06% of Automatic Data Processing worth $69,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Main Street Group LTD increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $319.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $298.29 and a 200-day moving average of $300.06. The company has a market cap of $129.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.93%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 63.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.55.

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.