Alta Advisers Ltd Purchases 272 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Alta Advisers Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 2.9 %

ADP stock opened at $284.85 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $300.84 and a 200 day moving average of $298.30. The firm has a market cap of $116.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,112.80. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,775 shares of company stock worth $1,447,893 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.