Caprock Group LLC Acquires 1,857 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the third quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $303.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $283.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 81.85%. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.27.

Automatic Data Processing 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.