Ames National Corp Makes New $1.75 Million Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ames National Corp bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,975 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,749,000. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 1.1% of Ames National Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Main Street Group LTD increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $0.56 during trading on Monday, reaching $321.09. The company had a trading volume of 962,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,705,331. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $301.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.06. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $323.66.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.