Essex Savings Bank Raises Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Essex Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 3.2% of Essex Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $12,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,044,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 237.6% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares in the last quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 24,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $293.37 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $119.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $298.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.35. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ADP. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing 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.