Financial & Tax Architects LLC Sells 84 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Financial & Tax Architects LLC reduced its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,437 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 1.7% of Financial & Tax Architects LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Financial & Tax Architects LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $6,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ADP shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.91.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ ADP traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $296.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,405,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,454,451. The company has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $298.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % 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 Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.