Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC

Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.2% of Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $12,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ADP. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $303.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $123.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $311.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $297.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.90.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 81.85% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Automatic Data Processing 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.