Armis Advisers LLC Buys New Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Armis Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,264 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $708,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,926 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,161,000 after purchasing an additional 7,734 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 155,934 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 13,677 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,004,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 248.8% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,448 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,255,000 after acquiring an additional 27,424 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $324.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 921,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,701,072. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $302.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $301.50. The stock has a market cap of $131.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $327.99. 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 (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given 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 1.90%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 63.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ADP. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.64.

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.