Port Capital LLC Purchases 14,263 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Port Capital LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,263 shares during the period. Port Capital LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $16,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Main Street Group LTD increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. 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, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4%

ADP stock opened at $309.41 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The stock has a market cap of $125.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $297.49 and its 200 day moving average is $299.59.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.