Tufton Capital Management Has $13.19 Million Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Tufton Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,860 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.8% of Tufton Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $13,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,010,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,629,852,000 after acquiring an additional 794,328 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 198,008 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 94,265.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,770,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,763,553 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 288,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 77,187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,776,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $215,750.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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. Insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.0 %

ADP traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $242.93. 204,584 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,802,152. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $247.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.46 and a fifty-two week high of $256.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.79 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

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.