Verity & Verity LLC Increases Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Verity & Verity LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at $708,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 155,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 236,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,290,000 after purchasing an additional 21,910 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Napatree Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $298.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $305.64.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $309.75 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $329.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.92. 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 market cap of $125.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

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.