Lynch & Associates IN Purchases Shares of 702 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Lynch & Associates IN acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 702 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

ADP stock traded down $5.04 on Friday, reaching $286.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,292,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,012. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $116.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $298.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.85.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,589.82. This represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.