Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 514 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 181,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 514 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $53,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after buying an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third 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 buying an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 valued at $5,098,541,000 after acquiring an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $313.22 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $313.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price 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 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.