Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 2,396 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,396 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $701,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $172,497,000 after acquiring an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded down $1.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $310.76. 1,600,341 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,606,313. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $313.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $298.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.74. The company has a market cap of $126.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ADP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.55.

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.