Gilbert & Cook Inc. Has $539,000 Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during 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. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP traded up $4.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $304.86. 104,582 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,651,622. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $311.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $297.23 and a 200-day moving average of $283.77. The stock has a market cap of $124.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. On average, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

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.