Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Acquires 47 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $254.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.42.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at $4,380,645. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total value of $90,899.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,966 shares of company stock worth $749,524 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.9 %

ADP traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $242.94. 1,133,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,774,157. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $256.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $245.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.95.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.09. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 93.09% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $5.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid 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 presently 62.50%.

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.