Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Purchased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 193,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,854 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $56,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 99,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 3,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.2 %

ADP opened at $295.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $297.27 and its 200-day moving average is $281.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.