Brighton Jones LLC Has $1.76 Million Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $241.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $256.84. The company has a market capitalization of $99.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $246.29 and its 200-day moving average is $239.06.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share 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 dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total value of $173,104.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,159,958.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total value of $173,104.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,159,958.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.36.

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.