Investment Partners LTD. Reduces Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Investment Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $1,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $3.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $243.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,555,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,926. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $246.70 and a 200-day moving average of $239.26. The company has a market capitalization of $99.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.78. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.53 and a 12-month high of $256.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 95.22% and a net margin of 19.14%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total value of $173,104.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,687 shares in the company, valued at $5,159,958.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.43, for a total value of $173,104.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,687 shares in the company, valued at $5,159,958.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Joseph Desilva sold 1,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $485,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,179 shares in the company, valued at $4,380,645. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock worth $3,741,859 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ADP. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.58.

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.