Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Purchases Shares of 91,288 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 91,288 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $26,723,000. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 0.8% of Strategic Financial Concepts LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of ADP stock traded up $3.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $313.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,407,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,934. The company has a market capitalization of $127.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $313.72. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $297.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.42.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, sell-side 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 firm 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 $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ADP. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen upped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.