Korea Investment CORP Sells 9,484 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 299,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,484 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $87,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 10.6% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $995,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 55,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,389,000 after buying an additional 4,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted 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 buying an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.0 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $302.41 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. 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 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84.

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, 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%. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.