Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Stake Boosted by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 23.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 18,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,599,000 after buying an additional 3,465 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter valued at about $754,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 14.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 801,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $200,256,000 after purchasing an additional 99,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.6% during the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total value of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,946. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,792 shares of company stock valued at $27,691,708 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ADP opened at $307.91 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $226.09 and a 12 month high of $309.21. The stock has a market cap of $125.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $284.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.77%.

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.