Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,816 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $39,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

ADP stock traded down $2.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $308.15. 1,100,945 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,756,367. The firm's 50 day moving average is $297.56 and its 200 day moving average is $288.77. The firm has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $311.67.

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 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, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid 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 yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised 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. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Corporate 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.