CRA Financial Services LLC Buys Shares of 880 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

CRA Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 880 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Main Street Group LTD grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $307.18. 690,096 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,708,050. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The stock has a market cap of $124.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50-day moving average is $308.94 and its 200-day moving average is $302.89.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. TD Securities raised their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.