Napatree Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Napatree Capital LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the 4th 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 period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th 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 period. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ADP shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $295.32 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $303.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.36. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $120.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is 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.