Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Bought by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,279 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10.3% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.6% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $146,581,000 after acquiring an additional 22,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 124.3% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 6,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 3,602 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $302.46 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $301.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $123.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

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.