KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $54.66 Million Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 185,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $54,655,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ADP shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $295.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.22. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.