Putney Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,500 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Main Street Group LTD grew its stake 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 grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded down $1.57 on Wednesday, hitting $324.14. 1,157,704 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,704,191. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $302.14 and a 200-day moving average of $301.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $329.12. The stock has a market cap of $131.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. Automatic Data Processing's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ADP. TD Securities boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.64.

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.