Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC Invests $327,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burney Co. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 11,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $561,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 11,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,461,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,882,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $293.37 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $298.48 and a 200-day moving average of $279.35. The company has a market cap of $119.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. 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 presently 65.74%.

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.