Donoghue Forlines LLC Invests $2.08 Million in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,000. Automatic Data Processing accounts for approximately 0.7% of Donoghue Forlines LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $296.18 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business 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 payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

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.