Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $470,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $951,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,236,000 after purchasing an additional 6,399 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.6 %

ADP stock opened at $294.18 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $119.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $302.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. On average, research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. UBS Group raised 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.