Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by HFR Wealth Management LLC

HFR Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,787 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 147 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing makes up 3.5% of HFR Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. HFR Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $13,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 589 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 174.2% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 724 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 190,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,637,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total value of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:ADP opened at $318.64 on Tuesday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $320.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $301.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.72. The company has a market cap of $129.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.79.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ADP. Barclays upped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.