West Oak Capital LLC Grows Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 1.7% of West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $3,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

ADP stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $236.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,276,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,695,143. The firm has a market cap of $96.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $245.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.86. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.53 and a 52-week high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ADP. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.42.

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.