Banco Santander S.A. Purchases 1,158 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 48.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.3 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $306.45 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $302.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.93. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. The trade was a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.