Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Sora Investors LLC

Sora Investors LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 75.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,840 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,060 shares during the quarter. Sora Investors LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $12,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased 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 buying an additional 1,299,390 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $342,942,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $319,199,000 after buying an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 completion of the transaction, 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 have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:ADP traded up $3.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $322.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,530,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,069. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $298.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $328.08. The stock has a market cap of $131.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.