Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $201,000 in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 687 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $292,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $757,000. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 94,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,090,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $295.93 on Wednesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $302.66 and its 200-day moving average is $295.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.18.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.