Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Buys 75 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 13,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 4,654 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $88,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,923,265,000 after purchasing an additional 277,324 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drexel Morgan & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $295.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $120.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.50.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced 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%. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

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.