Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ledyard National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 11,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,733,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 103,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,173,000 after acquiring an additional 4,872 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 14,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 12,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,965,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ADP. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $243.55. 428,351 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,769,268. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.53 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.10. The firm has a market cap of $100.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued 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 company had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

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.