Independence Bank of Kentucky Buys 15,511 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1,344.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,511 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 0.8% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blossom Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 9,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,885,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 8,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,453,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $303.01 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $311.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.32. 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 market capitalization of $123.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ADP. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.27.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.