Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by SlateStone Wealth LLC

SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heritage Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 8,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ADP opened at $245.06 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.46 and a 12-month high of $256.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.21.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.58.

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.