Pecaut & CO. Invests $205,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Pecaut & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 700 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after buying an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after buying an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after acquiring an additional 449,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $297.51 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $121.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $302.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.08.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

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.