Westpac Banking Corp Acquires 1,802 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,014 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $8,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $319,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $576,000. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Centric Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 10,995 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,219,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:ADP traded up $2.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $283.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,043,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,638,489. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $304.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.33. The company has a market capitalization of $115.64 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted 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, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % 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, 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 transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,364 shares of company stock worth $1,613,094 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.30.

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.