10,335 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Bought by Vista Investment Partners II LLC

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,025,000. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 1.8% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, 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 value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $306.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $124.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $302.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly 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%. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note 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 research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.