Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,709 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 1.5% of Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,731,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,923,265,000 after acquiring an additional 277,324 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $5,098,541,000 after purchasing an additional 424,328 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 286,080 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,238,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,197,000 after purchasing an additional 41,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $910,972,000 after purchasing an additional 449,431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of ADP opened at $302.41 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $123.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.96.

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 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, equities analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ADP. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted 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. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.