Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Bought by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 83.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,447 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,872 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $146,581,000 after purchasing an additional 22,766 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,644 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,701,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, InvesTrust purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,650,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ADP. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business'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 value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ADP stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $308.01. 851,684 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,692,150. The business's fifty day moving average is $297.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.