Acorn Creek Capital LLC Buys New Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Acorn Creek Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 734 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.0 %

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $300.15 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $297.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.77. The firm has a market cap of $122.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment 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, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.