Telos Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Telos Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 862 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,010,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,629,852,000 after buying an additional 794,328 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,670,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,085,849,000 after buying an additional 198,008 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 94,265.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,770,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,256,000 after buying an additional 6,763,553 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,902,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,028,000 after buying an additional 288,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,242,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,327,000 after buying an additional 77,187 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $242.90 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $247.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.46 and a 1-year high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.58.

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.