Avestar Capital LLC Acquires 363 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. State Street Corp increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,906,257,000 after purchasing an additional 286,080 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,197,000 after buying an additional 41,709 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after buying an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $623,419,000 after buying an additional 17,717 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. The trade was a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $310.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $297.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.85. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

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.