Prosperity Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 706 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $292.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $119.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $302.27 and its 200 day moving average is $294.33. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted 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 lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

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.