InvesTrust Invests $8.65 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

InvesTrust purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 29,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,650,000. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 2.4% of InvesTrust’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Innova Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,068,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,701,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $4,683,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of ADP stock traded up $3.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $291.42. 529,139 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,112,918. The company has a market capitalization of $118.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $298.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. This is an increase from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

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.