Certior Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 1,310 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $384,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $455,993,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,814 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,972,000 after buying an additional 449,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1,029.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 420,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,429,000 after purchasing an additional 383,057 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ADP. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.30.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,364 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,094. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 6.3 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $286.13 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $297.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.