Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Purchases 22,387 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 102,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,387 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up 1.7% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $30,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $297.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $121.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $297.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.10.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

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.