Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,260 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ADP. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $286.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $116.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Christopher D’ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,368 shares of company stock valued at $1,903,541. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.