Northcape Wealth Management LLC Purchases 72 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,899,862.45. The trade was a 20.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.60, for a total transaction of $228,927.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,946. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 97,792 shares of company stock worth $27,691,708. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $297.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.12 and a 1-year high of $309.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. This is a boost from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.