Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Norris Perne & French LLP MI

Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 972 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock opened at $303.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $297.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $283.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. On average, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ADP. Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on 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, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.27.

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.