R.H. Investment Group LLC Takes $5.44 Million Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

R.H. Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,570 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,436,000. Automatic Data Processing comprises 5.1% of R.H. Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,069,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $1.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $293.37. 1,764,377 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,346. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $298.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.35. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. Automatic Data Processing's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.