Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Grows Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,814 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after acquiring an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $315.18 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $316.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $300.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.