Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 355 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 323.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $246.84 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $201.46 and a one year high of $256.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $247.09 and its 200 day moving average is $239.21. The company has a market capitalization of $101.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. 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 shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.58.

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.