Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP lowered its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 158,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,700 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $46,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $708,000. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 33.3% in the fourth 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 period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 155,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 13,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of ADP stock opened at $322.96 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $298.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.38. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $328.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 63.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.14, for a total value of $140,120.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,364 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,682.96. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,451 shares of company stock worth $743,024. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ADP. UBS Group boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.55.

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.