Nvest Financial LLC Buys 795 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Nvest Financial LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 19.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $957,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,028,000 after acquiring an additional 5,299 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 924,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,626,000 after purchasing an additional 168,972 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $298.19 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $310.13 and a 200-day moving average of $303.01. The company has a market capitalization of $121.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 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 0.51, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.