Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Purchases 4,078 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 74,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,078 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $21,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $318.64 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $320.50. The stock has a market cap of $129.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $301.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.72.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

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.