New England Professional Planning Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

New England Professional Planning Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. New England Professional Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADP. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 8,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,041 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,177,000. Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 6,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 2,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $310.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $298.72 and its 200-day moving average is $290.32. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $313.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $126.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

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.