Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Bought by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 34,655.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,901,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $886,345,000 after buying an additional 2,892,660 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,796,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $342,942,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $326.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $132.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $327.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $305.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut 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 issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. 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.