Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $9,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. McGrath & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $691,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 72.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 162,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $311.30 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $315.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.53.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Company 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.