WealthTrust Axiom LLC Has $1.38 Million Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ADP. Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $258.36.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $242.96. 820,503 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,773,738. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.53 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $99.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,876,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.