PGGM Investments Reduces Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

PGGM Investments lowered its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 43,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,025 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22,539.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 934,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $217,670,000 after buying an additional 930,199 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 40.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,128,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $752,703,000 after purchasing an additional 905,043 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 65.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,402,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,416,000 after purchasing an additional 555,184 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 18.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,576,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $855,287,000 after purchasing an additional 553,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $107,401,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of ADP stock traded down $3.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $243.07. 1,555,489 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,926. The business’s fifty day moving average is $246.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $256.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $258.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.26% 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.