Promus Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $319,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,814 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after buying an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $310.43 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $301.77 and a 200-day moving average of $293.19. The stock has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. 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 (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ADP. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.