Millstone Evans Group LLC Takes Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,032,000. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 0.7% of Millstone Evans Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,199,000 after buying an additional 1,087,814 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after acquiring an additional 479,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,972,000 after acquiring an additional 449,431 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $295.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $303.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.22. 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 capitalization of $120.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.