Sierra Ocean LLC Buys Shares of 802 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 802 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the third quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $308.15 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $311.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $125.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $297.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.58.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

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.