Dover Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 720 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Dover Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 720 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ADP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. TD Cowen raised 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $310.76 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $313.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $126.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $298.72 and a 200-day moving average of $290.54.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

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.