Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Acquired by Sentinus LLC

Sentinus LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Sentinus LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,741,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 10,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $435,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 36,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,795,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sora Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 41,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,248,000 after purchasing an additional 18,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $319.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.55.

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.