Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,988 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 409 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in 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 buying an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $951,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 51.1% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,236,000 after acquiring an additional 6,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 12.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 82,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,896,000 after acquiring an additional 8,846 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective 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 given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.7 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $296.58 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $302.51 and its 200-day moving average is $294.90. The company has a market cap of $120.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its 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 return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.