Evoke Wealth LLC Raises Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Evoke Wealth LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $295.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $302.66 and a 200 day moving average of $295.04. 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 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) 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 anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. Barclays upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.