Allstate Corp Invests $3.54 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,540,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 704,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,151,000 after acquiring an additional 9,929 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 871 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverchase Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $300.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $303.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.20. 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 stock has a market cap of $122.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Automatic Data Processing’s 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.