Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich Purchases 75 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,305,780,000 after buying an additional 1,190,407 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after buying an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after acquiring an additional 424,328 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.4 %

ADP opened at $305.78 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $311.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $297.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.34.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

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.