Gallacher Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays raised 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 given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $291.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.58. The company has a market cap of $118.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a PEG 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.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (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 anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. 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 64.23%.

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.