Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 2,862 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 133,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,862 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $39,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the period. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.2 %

ADP opened at $310.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $297.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.85. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.