GM Advisory Group LLC Increases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $295.93 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $120.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $302.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.04.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on 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 issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.18.

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.