34,711 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Purchased by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 34,711 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,161,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $303.96. 1,232,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,686,130. The company's 50-day moving average is $298.19 and its 200 day moving average is $298.80. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders 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 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 63.05%.

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.