163,862 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Bought by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 163,862 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $47,967,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Main Street Group LTD boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Banque de Luxembourg S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADP. TD Securities raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $322.96 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $328.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $298.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $131.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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