Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Invests $5.30 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,106 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,300,000. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.5% of Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Main Street Group LTD lifted its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities raised 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $325.58. 404,302 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,696,563. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $327.99. The company has a market cap of $132.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $303.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $301.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter last 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, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.05%.

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.