Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC

Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ADP. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 106.0% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Don Mcguire sold 11,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,776,585.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,876,970. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,159,958.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,162 shares of company stock valued at $3,741,859. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ADP. Bank of America raised Automatic Data Processing from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $243.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.36.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded down $1.79 on Tuesday, hitting $242.16. 1,120,297 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,774,410. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $205.53 and a one year high of $256.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $246.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.10.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.67 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.19%.

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.