Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Has $7.21 Million Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 136 shares during the quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $7,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $297.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $121.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.08.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly 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, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Barclays boosted their target price on 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 downgraded 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 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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, UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock worth $1,762,074 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.