Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 253,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,210 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $58,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $3.27 on Friday, hitting $243.07. 1,555,489 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,926. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.53 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.36.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.