Stonehearth Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Stonehearth Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 8.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 230.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $271.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $282.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $267.83.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $283.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.53 and a 1-year high of $283.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $269.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.43.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 89.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Carlos A. Rodriguez sold 9,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.45, for a total transaction of $2,479,748.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,741 shares in the company, valued at $9,899,862.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 19,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.38, for a total value of $5,253,553.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,464,384.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,817 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,208 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.