D.A. Davidson & CO. Grows Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 260,243 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned approximately 0.06% of Automatic Data Processing worth $76,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ADP stock traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $310.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,600,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,313. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week 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 company's fifty day moving average is $298.72 and its 200 day moving average is $290.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 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%. Research 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 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. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.