Blossom Wealth Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Blossom Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Blossom Wealth Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings 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. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’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 represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.27.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $303.01 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $297.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.32. The firm has a market cap of $123.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 81.85% and a net margin of 19.76%. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

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.