Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 274.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 102,276 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $40,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 15,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 49,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,566,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $471,000. Claris Advisors LLC MO raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11,488.9% during the 4th quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 1,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,025,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ADP. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $302.99 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a market cap of $123.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $302.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

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.