Centric Wealth Management Boosts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Centric Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 0.9% of Centric Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Centric Wealth Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $305.53 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. One equities 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. 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.