Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Buys 304 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,059 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 1.3% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’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 value of $215,750.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. 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 report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.36.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $1.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $242.91. 471,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,769,770. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $246.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $256.84.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.