Howe & Rusling Inc. Makes New Investment in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Howe & Rusling Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $431,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $305.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $322.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $303.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.02.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.30.

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.