Atria Investments Inc Acquires 7,137 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,137 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $20,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 14,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,290,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 2,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 44.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 584,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $171,151,000 after purchasing an additional 180,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mayport LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $313.44 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $301.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.07.

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, 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. 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 owned by insiders.

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.