Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 48,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,493 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $14,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $296.58 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $302.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.90. The firm has a market cap of $120.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $290,447.16. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,589.82. This trade represents a 14.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.