Sargent Investment Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $308.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $297.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.67. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing 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.