Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Increases Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 279,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,161 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $81,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock opened at $300.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.47 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.65. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ADP. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.