McGrath & Associates Inc. Invests $691,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

McGrath & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $691,000. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 1.4% of McGrath & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.4% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 33,258.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 48,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,478,000 after acquiring an additional 48,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 11,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,101,000 after acquiring an additional 2,041 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $311.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $315.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $299.84 and its 200-day moving average is $291.39.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS 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 given a $1.54 dividend. 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 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

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 value of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

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.