Procyon Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after acquiring an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% during the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,069,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $951,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.0 %

ADP opened at $296.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $120.70 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $298.24 and a 200-day moving average of $279.45.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.