Prosperity Financial Group Inc. Makes New $207,000 Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 706 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after buying an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $160,920,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in 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 worth $172,497,000 after acquiring an additional 479,145 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $292.44 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The stock has a market cap of $119.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.33.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. 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, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid 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 2.11%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.