Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,905 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,228 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $32,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,923,265,000 after purchasing an additional 277,324 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 raised its stake 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% in 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 during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,886,552 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,137,710,000 after acquiring an additional 219,032 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4%

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $1.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $309.41. 1,163,103 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,692,712. The company has a market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business's 50 day moving average is $297.44 and its 200 day moving average is $299.52. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 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 firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $303.55.

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.