Burney Co. Increases Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Burney Co. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 25.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,377 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,044,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 237.6% in the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 4,735 shares in the last quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 6.3% in the second quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 24,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $981,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $293.37 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $298.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.35.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This trade represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.