Suncoast Equity Management Raises Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Suncoast Equity Management boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,919 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up approximately 3.5% of Suncoast Equity Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $30,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Sentinus LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 593 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,266,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ADP shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $321.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total transaction of $140,120.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,158,682.96. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. This trade represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $306.26 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $329.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 77.33%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.05%.

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.