Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 22,766 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,766 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $146,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total transaction of $5,253,553.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares in the company, valued at $25,464,384.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,817 shares of company stock worth $15,999,208. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock opened at $304.85 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.28 and a twelve month high of $306.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $124.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $282.92 and its 200-day moving average is $261.11.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

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.