DSM Capital Partners LLC Acquires 305 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

DSM Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $470,000. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,069,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $309.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $126.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $311.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $297.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.42.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released 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 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

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.