Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,583,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,965 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,098,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,068,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $146,581,000 after acquiring an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $194,117,000 after acquiring an additional 51,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $305.53 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $304.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.64. The company has a market cap of $124.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.30.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

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

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.