Heritage Trust Co Acquires New Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Heritage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 28,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,353,000. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 1.0% of Heritage Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,364 shares of company stock worth $1,613,094. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.8 %

ADP stock opened at $292.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $302.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.39. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.30.

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.