Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 19,740 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,740 shares and leaving it with 112,938 shares worth about $29.1 million.
• ADP reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.37 versus estimates of $3.30 and revenue of $5.94 billion versus estimates of $5.85 billion. Quarterly revenue rose 7.0% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, payable July 1, which annualizes to $6.80 per share and implies a 2.9% yield.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,938 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,740 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $29,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,689,633 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,235,907,000 after buying an additional 389,451 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,576,572 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,977,777,000 after purchasing an additional 136,876 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,021,194 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,354,220,000 after purchasing an additional 116,074 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 47.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,830,294 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,004,691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,837,993 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,419,951,000 after purchasing an additional 261,312 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 543 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.45, for a total transaction of $113,188.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,912 shares in the company, valued at $1,857,706.40. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $300.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $332.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $300.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $234.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $311.00 to $274.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $244.29.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $231.95 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $188.16 and a one year high of $329.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $210.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64 and a beta of 0.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 68.82% and a net margin of 20.12%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.010-11.110 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.43%.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) is a global provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll solutions. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey, ADP began as a payroll processing company and has evolved into a diversified provider of workforce management, HR, benefits administration, tax and compliance services, and analytics for employers of all sizes.

ADP's product portfolio includes payroll processing and tax filing, time and attendance systems, benefits administration, talent management, and HR outsourcing.

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