Dogwood Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2,105.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,448 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,337 shares during the quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $396,714,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,796,415,000 after buying an additional 1,299,390 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $342,942,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% 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 worth $743,024 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $324.12. 921,682 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,701,614. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $302.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $301.50. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $327.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $131.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.88 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.