Pathstone Holdings LLC Buys 1,787 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,595 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $25,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Main Street Group LTD lifted its stake in 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ADP shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP traded up $3.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $319.37. 1,488,982 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,698,742. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.06. 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 $129.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. 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 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio 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.