Albion Financial Group UT Buys 1,067 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 42.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Mizuho lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $298.15 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $121.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.46.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS 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. Shareholders 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 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.