Blueshift Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,475 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 105.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ADP stock opened at $298.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.07.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,961. The trade was a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing 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.