Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,583,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,965 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.60% of Automatic Data Processing worth $3,098,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 277,324 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after acquiring an additional 424,328 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,972,000 after purchasing an additional 449,431 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $679,675,000 after purchasing an additional 69,042 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,917,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $530,521,000 after purchasing an additional 11,340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.6 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $305.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $124.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $304.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.64. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 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.