SlateStone Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Monument Group Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,015,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 525 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1,353.1% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,943,000 after acquiring an additional 39,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

ADP stock opened at $245.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $100.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.46 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $247.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.21.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.58.

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.