Virtue Capital Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Virtue Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 903 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Sentinus LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,686 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $140,120.92. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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 raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $324.12. 921,682 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,701,072. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 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 stock has a market capitalization of $131.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.50.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for 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%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.88 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued 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 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.