Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stock Position Boosted by BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC

BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $300.83 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $303.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.20. The company has a market cap of $122.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share 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%. Equities 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company 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.