Modera Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $28,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ADP. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,906,257,000 after acquiring an additional 286,080 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,197,000 after acquiring an additional 41,709 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $623,419,000 after acquiring an additional 17,717 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Mizuho raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $315.18 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $300.66 and a 200-day moving average of $292.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $316.46.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released 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%. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.