Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Purchases 786 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 1.7% of Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $22,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $291.76 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. 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 company has a market cap of $118.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $302.32 and its 200 day moving average is $294.58.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS 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 issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.