BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 9,804 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,096 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,804 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $22,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Main Street Group LTD increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of 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, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock traded up $3.58 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $324.67. 366,815 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,700,093. The company has a market capitalization of $131.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. 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 50-day moving average of $301.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $301.17. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $325.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.