Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys 2,188 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,188 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,754,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,581,000 after buying an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions 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 dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ ADP opened at $306.45 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $293.55. 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 announced its 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 return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upped 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 reaffirmed 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, Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.18.

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.