Equitable Trust Co. Acquires 744 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the third quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $305.97 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $297.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

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, 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.