Apollon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 321 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 317.3% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $305.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $124.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $297.20 and a 200 day moving average of $286.39. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $311.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.