PUREfi Wealth LLC Takes $876,000 Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

PUREfi Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $876,000. Automatic Data Processing comprises 0.9% of PUREfi Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $308.15 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67. The stock has a market cap of $125.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $297.49 and a 200 day moving average of $288.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ADP. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen increased 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 increased their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

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.