Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,830,078 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 549,132 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.94% of Automatic Data Processing worth $1,115,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alteri Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 29,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,532,000 after buying an additional 7,670 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $1,131,000. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 10,499 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,073,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $24,969,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $303.57 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $298.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.75. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The firm has a market cap of $123.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G 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 (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared 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. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.05%.

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.

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