Byrne Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Byrne Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 828 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 28,478.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,194,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,305,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,407 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,497,000 after purchasing an additional 479,145 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP opened at $305.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.99. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $311.67. The company has a market cap of $124.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

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.