Palisade Asset Management LLC Has $15.71 Million Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 1.7% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $15,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Centric Wealth Management boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 8,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 11,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 10,709 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,495,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $557,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $242.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,126,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,769,246. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $99.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $245.29 and a 200 day moving average of $238.95. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.53 and a 12 month high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.42.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total transaction of $173,104.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,159,958.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total value of $173,104.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,159,958.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,966 shares of company stock valued at $749,524 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.