Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Purchases New Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,784,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,796,415,000 after buying an additional 1,299,390 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $342,942,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $284.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.30. The firm has a market cap of $116.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year 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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.