Ieq Capital LLC Sells 7,753 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Ieq Capital LLC cut its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,753 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. McAdam LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 6.7% in the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 184,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,172,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,196,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,037,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 193.7% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 in the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $310.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.11. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $313.72.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ADP. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a 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. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.