Sawyer & Company Inc Sells 690 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sawyer & Company Inc lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 690 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing comprises 2.1% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 42,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,083,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 600,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,002,000 after buying an additional 233,789 shares in the last quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $245.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $100.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.46 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $246.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.94.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 95.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 65.19%.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.01, for a total transaction of $90,899.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,996.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Kwon sold 863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $215,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,662 shares of company stock valued at $4,094,554. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.08.

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.