West Michigan Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

West Michigan Advisors LLC 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 SEC. The fund purchased 1,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after acquiring an additional 15,340 shares during the period. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $470,000. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $315.18 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $316.46. The stock has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $300.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.13.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

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.