Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Increases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 47.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,888 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,963 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $8,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $2.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $295.32. 3,951,110 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,459,985. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. 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 firm has a market cap of $120.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company's fifty day moving average is $303.08 and its 200-day moving average is $295.36.

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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.18.

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.