Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Takes Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,417 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % 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 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock traded up $1.74 on Tuesday, reaching $309.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,313,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,622,654. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $311.67. The company has a market capitalization of $126.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $297.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

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.