Natural Investments LLC Invests $1.46 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 4,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,458,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $1,066,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $951,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $534,000. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 6.0% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,836 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,383,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $302.99 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $302.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84. The company has a market cap of $123.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

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.