Ethic Inc. Buys 10,276 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,349 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,276 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $20,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AMG National Trust Bank raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,686 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.55.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $308.88. The stock had a trading volume of 498,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,688,511. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.52.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.