Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Horizon Investments LLC

Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 125,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,834,000 after buying an additional 5,076 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 118.0% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 36,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,189,000 after buying an additional 19,926 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2,248.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ADP 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 firm has a market capitalization of $120.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.04. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued 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, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share 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. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.