BankPlus Trust Department Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 12,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,709,000. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 1.2% of BankPlus Trust Department’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ADP. Barclays upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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 directly 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 Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $310.76 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $298.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.54. The firm has a market cap of $126.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $313.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

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.