Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Position Raised by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 385 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises 0.6% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,769,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,932,020,000 after buying an additional 173,298 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,065,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,989,000 after acquiring an additional 435,093 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,625,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $905,354,000 after acquiring an additional 81,869 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,548,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $846,912,000 after purchasing an additional 139,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,556,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,182,000 after purchasing an additional 9,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ADP opened at $307.50 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $285.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.12 and a 12-month high of $309.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Bonarti sold 26,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.96, for a total transaction of $7,164,724.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 88,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,959,908.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.