Milestone Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,199 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,505,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Main Street Group LTD grew 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 in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in 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. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $325.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 475,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,792,628. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $327.99. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $305.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.23. The company has a market cap of $132.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Automatic Data Processing's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 63.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. UBS Group upped their target price 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. TD Securities increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday. Finally, 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. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.64.

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.