Junto Capital Management LP Invests $28.75 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 98,224 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,753,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $308.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $125.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50-day moving average is $297.34 and its 200 day moving average is $299.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current 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 released its earnings results 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. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 at this link. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.

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