Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 687 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 42.0% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 125,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,834,000 after purchasing an additional 5,076 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 118.0% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 36,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,189,000 after purchasing an additional 19,926 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2,248.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $295.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.04.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side 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, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ADP. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their target price 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, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.