Hall Laurie J Trustee Sells 175 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Hall Laurie J Trustee lessened its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing accounts for 1.6% of Hall Laurie J Trustee’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Hall Laurie J Trustee’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $4,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 169 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ADP. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP opened at $296.18 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $297.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.29.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.