Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC Has $2.73 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up approximately 1.3% of Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the period. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $470,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $951,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 51.1% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,236,000 after acquiring an additional 6,399 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

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

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ADP. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 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, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

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.