Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $13.59 Million Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 51.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,000 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $13,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 19.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 134,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,532,000 after purchasing an additional 21,671 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the first quarter worth $571,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.4% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 453 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 82.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 636 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.37% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $230.46 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $237.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.59. The company has a market cap of $94.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.83. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.46 and a 1-year high of $274.92.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The business services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 102.59%. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.52 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 8th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ADP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $285.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $235.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $240.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.42.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 17,326 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.03, for a total transaction of $4,418,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,051,533.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 58,864 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.42, for a total transaction of $14,740,722.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,233,590.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 17,326 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.03, for a total transaction of $4,418,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,051,533.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 165,420 shares of company stock valued at $41,491,937. 0.26% of the stock is 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.