ICW Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 1.5% of ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ardent Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $392,000. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 22,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,330,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,995,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,613,000 after acquiring an additional 5,318 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,635,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock traded up $10.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $252.23. 1,139,303 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,778,692. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.06. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.53 and a 52 week high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America raised 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 note on Wednesday, January 17th. 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 report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $258.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,380,645. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.