Sheets Smith Investment Management Makes New $1.27 Million Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sheets Smith Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,274,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $754,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 184,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,976,000 after purchasing an additional 18,793 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WESPAC Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Barclays increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $295.32 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $120.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $303.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.50.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.