FourThought Financial Partners LLC Grows Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.14 on Friday, hitting $241.89. 1,491,532 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,451,137. The company has a market capitalization of $99.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $245.63 and a 200 day moving average of $238.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.53 and a twelve month high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.56% and a return on equity of 93.09%. The business had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,829 shares of company stock valued at $965,274. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.42.

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.