Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) is Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Kanawha Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 878 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing accounts for about 2.7% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $34,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. The trade was a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,478 shares of company stock valued at $1,617,241 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.55.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $310.22 on Friday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a one year low of $231.27 and a one year high of $311.67. The company has a market cap of $126.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $297.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.85.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last posted 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

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.