Defined Financial Planning LLC Takes Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Defined Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,027 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $217,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,370 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 4,394 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 164,486 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,150,000 after buying an additional 9,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $293.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,667,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,676,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $301.52 and a 200 day moving average of $298.01. The firm has a market cap of $119.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company'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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ADP. Barclays upped their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.30.

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.