Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 126 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 126 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,069,000 after acquiring an additional 2,781 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $298.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ADP. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. Corporate 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.