Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $100.33 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 430,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,191 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $100,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10,832.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,033 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Country Club Bank GFN raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Country Club Bank GFN now owns 5,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,727,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $3.27 on Friday, reaching $243.07. 1,555,489 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,384,926. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $256.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $246.70 and a 200 day moving average of $239.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,876,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ADP. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.36.

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.