Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Invests $2.84 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,282 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,836,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $957,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 5,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $301.79. 1,653,898 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,710,240. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $312.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $245.80 and a 1 year high of $329.93.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 77.33% and a net margin of 19.79%. Automatic Data Processing's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Automatic Data Processing to a "hold" rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.62.

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.