Vertex Planning Partners LLC Increases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 871 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riverchase Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $261,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,012,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 454,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $133,101,000 after purchasing an additional 16,339 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $455,993,000. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $305.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $124.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.02. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its 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, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.30.

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.