Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC Trims Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lowered its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 64 shares during the quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,069,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $305.97 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $311.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $297.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.99.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

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.