Running Oak Capital LLC Takes Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Running Oak Capital LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 22,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,342,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,670,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,085,849,000 after purchasing an additional 198,008 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,902,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,420,028,000 after purchasing an additional 288,234 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,242,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,327,000 after acquiring an additional 77,187 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,576,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $855,287,000 after acquiring an additional 553,946 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,128,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $752,703,000 after acquiring an additional 905,043 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ ADP traded down $5.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $242.03. 1,697,808 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,798,588. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $99.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.53 and a 52-week high of $256.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.11.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,829 shares of company stock worth $965,274. 0.26% of the stock is owned by 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.