Independent Advisor Alliance Buys 577 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction 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 $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $292.44 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $302.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.33. 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 one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84. The firm has a market cap of $119.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of 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 upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.18.

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.