Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Raises Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $297.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $297.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.43. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $121.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.