Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Has $36.26 Million Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,919 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up about 1.5% of Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $36,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

ADP opened at $310.76 on Monday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $313.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $298.72 and a 200 day moving average of $290.54. 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 firm has a market cap of $126.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADP. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total transaction of $106,366.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.