Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Raises Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,975 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

ADP opened at $308.15 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $297.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.77. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $311.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.60 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.