Tealwood Asset Management Inc. Acquires 124 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Tealwood Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 1.1% of Tealwood Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Tealwood Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $290.20 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $118.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.98.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. 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 prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,062 shares of company stock worth $12,299,550. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.