Fmr LLC Has $371.24 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Fmr LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,268,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,082 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $371,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,923,265,000 after acquiring an additional 277,324 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,583,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,098,305,000 after buying an additional 65,965 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after buying an additional 449,431 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $679,675,000 after acquiring an additional 69,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $455,993,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,364 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,094. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $292.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $302.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The firm has a market cap of $119.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.