Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $63.36 Million Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 228,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,203 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $63,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $286.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $116.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $298.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. The trade was a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,062 shares of company stock valued at $12,299,550 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.