Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $708,000. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 121.7% during the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 12,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,776,000 after buying an additional 7,080 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 11,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,397,000 after buying an additional 2,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,926 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,161,000 after purchasing an additional 7,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ADP. TD Securities lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $296.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,852.74. The trade was a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,451 shares of company stock valued at $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $315.85 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $297.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.79. The stock has a market cap of $128.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.49 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. Automatic Data Processing’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

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.