Cox Capital Mgt LLC Buys 569 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Cox Capital Mgt LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP – Get Rating) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 1.8% of Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Cox Capital Mgt LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ADP. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cowa LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 33.8% in the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 79.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ADP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $285.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $220.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $278.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Sunday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.15, for a total transaction of $12,235,274.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,415,226.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Donald Weinstein sold 5,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,243,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,072,750. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 52,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.15, for a total value of $12,235,274.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,415,226.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 106,350 shares of company stock valued at $25,301,670 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $2.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $213.22. 8,927,720 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,158,358. The company has a market capitalization of $88.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.81. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.61 and a 1-year high of $274.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $226.90 and a 200 day moving average of $237.26.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 96.94% and a net margin of 18.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 8.12 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.40%.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

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Automatic Data Processing, Inc engages in the provision of business outsourcing solutions specializing in cloud-based human capital management. It operates through the following business segments: Employer Services, Professional Employer Organization Services, and Other. The Employer Services segment provides clients ranging from single-employee small businesses to large enterprises with tens of thousands of employees around the world, offering a range of human resources outsourcing and technology-based human capital management solutions, including strategic, cloud-based platforms.