Cooper Financial Group Buys 126 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,114 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,069,000 after acquiring an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.5 %

ADP opened at $291.69 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $118.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $298.48 and a 200 day moving average of $279.35.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

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.