714 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Bought by SPC Financial Inc.

SPC Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 714 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Aspiriant LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $310.43 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $301.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.19. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a market capitalization of $126.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, 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 directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ADP. UBS Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus 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.