Synergy Investment Management LLC Invests $393,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $393,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Alta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $2,513,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $679,675,000 after buying an additional 69,042 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 74,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,825,000 after buying an additional 4,078 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 129,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing 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 value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % 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. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Mizuho upped 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $318.64 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $301.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.72. The firm has a market cap of $129.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $320.50.

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, 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 80.86%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.