1,610 Shares in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Acquired by Staley Capital Advisers Inc.

Staley Capital Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $302.99 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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 given 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 yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.