Americana Partners LLC Sells 1,150 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Americana Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,164 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,150 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $311.97. 1,304,464 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,606,496. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.27 and a twelve month high of $313.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $298.18 and a 200 day moving average of $289.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is 64.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total value of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 transaction of $704,869.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $929,007.90. This 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 worth $1,617,241. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ADP. Mizuho boosted 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 note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.55.

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.