Sowell Financial Services LLC Invests $2.01 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 6,570 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Main Street Group LTD lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 117 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.82.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $307.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $329.93. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $308.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.86.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

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.