Banco Santander S.A. Has $1.04 Million Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 48.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $470,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $951,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 51.1% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,236,000 after purchasing an additional 6,399 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $306.45 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The firm has a market cap of $124.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $302.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

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.