Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Buys 4,078 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 74,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,078 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $21,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ADP. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report 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 stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of Automatic Data Processing 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 in the company, valued at $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $318.64 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $301.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.72. The company has a market cap of $129.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $320.50.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.