1,429 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Bought by M.E. Allison & CO. Inc.

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,429 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 43.2% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 169 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $296.18. 2,405,360 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,454,451. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $297.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target 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. Mizuho upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.91.

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.