Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,159 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 571,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,281,000 after acquiring an additional 16,987 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $209,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 11.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 75,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,477 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $659,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $754,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

ADP stock opened at $295.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.36. The company has a market cap of $120.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.