F M Investments LLC Acquires 1,439 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

F M Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ADP. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,958,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $396,714,000. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 307.6% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 298,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,344,000 after purchasing an additional 225,155 shares in the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 184.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 64,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,833,000 after acquiring an additional 41,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus FCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 99.8% during the fourth quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 31,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,242,000 after purchasing an additional 15,771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $294.69 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $302.79 and a 200-day moving average of $297.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ADP. UBS Group increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,364 shares of company stock worth $1,613,094. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.