Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Has $1.87 Million Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lowered its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 116 shares during the quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $310.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $301.77 and its 200-day moving average is $293.19. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84. 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 issued its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.