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

Forum Private Client Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 740 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Forum Private Client Group LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 149.1% in the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 66,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,320,000 after purchasing an additional 39,500 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 490,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $143,644,000 after buying an additional 11,919 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 962,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $281,843,000 after buying an additional 26,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ADP. UBS Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. Barclays lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP stock opened at $286.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $304.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.15. The company has a market cap of $116.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.27 and a 12-month high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted 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 net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total value of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,368 shares of company stock valued at $1,903,541. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.