Howard Financial Services LTD. Buys 38 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Main Street Group LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $324.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $327.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $303.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.62. 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, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently 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.