Round Rock Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Round Rock Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 770 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.1% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP opened at $303.01 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $297.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 81.85%. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $290,447.16. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,589.82. The trade was a 14.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.27.

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.