Davidson Trust Co. Increases Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Davidson Trust Co. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 1.5% of Davidson Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,694,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 260,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $76,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 155,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $308.15 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $311.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $297.56 and its 200 day moving average is $288.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, sell-side 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 given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

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.