Fruth Investment Management Has $7.69 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Fruth Investment Management reduced its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 2.1% of Fruth Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $308.15 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $311.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $285.67. The company has a market capitalization of $125.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.