Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Davidson Trust Co.

Davidson Trust Co. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up approximately 1.5% of Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $308.15 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $311.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, 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 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.