WBI Investments LLC Boosts Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

WBI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 83.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,846 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,016 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Main Street Group LTD increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $319.37 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50-day moving average is $298.29 and its 200-day moving average is $300.13. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One 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 MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.55.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing 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.

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