Jacobs & Co. CA Has $13.57 Million Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up approximately 1.5% of Jacobs & Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $13,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth $30,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $248.33 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.46 and a 52-week high of $256.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $246.22 and a 200 day moving average of $238.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at $4,380,645. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,662 shares of company stock valued at $4,094,554 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ADP shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.08.

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.