Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Invests $636,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $295.32 on Friday. 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 $120.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $303.08 and a 200-day moving average of $295.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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%. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. UBS Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.18.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.