Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 88,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $25,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $507,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $120,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,631,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 73,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,475,000 after acquiring an additional 9,019 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $296.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $120.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $302.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.90. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84.

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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.