Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 44.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,299 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 33,258.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 48,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,478,000 after buying an additional 48,558 shares during the period. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 11,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,101,000 after buying an additional 2,041 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ADP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $311.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $315.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $299.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS 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%. Research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

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.