Schroder Investment Management Group Purchases 10,250 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 238,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,250 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $69,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,847,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 2,297 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $224,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1,628.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 196,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,509,000 after purchasing an additional 185,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 20,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,572,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $305.53 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $304.05 and its 200-day moving average is $296.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $124.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

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.