National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 60.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 638,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 240,524 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.16% of Automatic Data Processing worth $149,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,829 shares of company stock worth $965,274 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $241.89. 1,491,532 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,451,137. The company has a market capitalization of $99.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $256.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $245.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.08.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The firm had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.52 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 62.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Mizuho lifted 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 note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.42.

Automatic Data Processing 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.