VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Takes Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $757,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 94,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth $15,090,000. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 5,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $298.79 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $322.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $302.80 and its 200-day moving average is $295.07. The firm has a market cap of $121.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. 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 (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Barclays upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

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.