Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,303 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,057 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $53,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 34,655.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,901,007 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $886,345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892,660 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,299,390 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $342,942,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, June 5th. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $2.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $312.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,323,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,702,953. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $329.93. 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 market capitalization of $126.79 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $306.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $302.82.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 63.05%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

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

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.