CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ADP. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $952,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 27,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,155,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,583,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $297.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $121.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $297.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.10. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

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 (EPS) 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 business 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 company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.