Apeiron RIA LLC Purchases 61 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Apeiron RIA LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Apeiron RIA LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $295.80 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year 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 $120.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $297.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.56.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

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.