IMS Capital Management Buys 58 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

IMS Capital Management boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises 1.3% of IMS Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,750,000 after acquiring an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $951,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $310.22 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $311.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.85.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (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 80.86%. Analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

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.