Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 4,431.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,315,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,712,000 after buying an additional 2,264,202 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter worth about $160,920,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 332.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 623,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $172,497,000 after buying an additional 479,145 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,334,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,098,541,000 after buying an additional 424,328 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,517,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,906,257,000 after buying an additional 286,080 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ADP shares. Mizuho upped their target price 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Automatic Data Processing Stock Down 0.4 %

ADP stock opened at $310.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.63 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. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $313.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $298.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.32.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

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.