Equitable Trust Co. Acquires 744 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $305.97 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $297.20 and its 200 day moving average is $286.66. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ADP. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.