Evolution Advisers Inc. Acquires New Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 176 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heritage Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 8,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,065,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 8,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% in the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ADP traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $246.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,224,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,796,831. The firm has a market cap of $101.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.31. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.46 and a twelve month high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.58.

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.