Chancellor Financial Group WB LP Acquires New Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,238 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,136,763 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,796,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,390 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $342,942,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $324.12. 921,682 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,701,614. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $303.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $301.62. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $327.99. The firm has a market cap of $131.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 63.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.