Sei Investments Co. Acquires 286,813 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 308.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 379,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 286,813 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.09% of Automatic Data Processing worth $111,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,318,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $295.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $303.08 and its 200-day moving average is $295.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84.

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 (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

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.