MSH Capital Advisors LLC Invests $274,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 935 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $396,714,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $910,972,000 after buying an additional 449,431 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of ADP traded up $8.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $293.46. The stock had a trading volume of 302,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,675,495. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The company has a market cap of $119.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $300.84 and a 200 day moving average of $298.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered 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 restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.30.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other 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 directly owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,775 shares of company stock worth $1,447,893. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing 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.