Ground Swell Capital LLC Buys New Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,000. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.0% of Ground Swell Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $308.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $125.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $297.34 and a 200 day moving average of $299.18. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.