Verity & Verity LLC Grows Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,976 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after acquiring an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 242.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 644,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,749,000 after purchasing an additional 456,027 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $296.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $298.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.57. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. Analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is currently 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.