Asset Dedication LLC Sells 4,069 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Asset Dedication LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 57.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,059 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,069 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $896,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ADP. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at $158,000. BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 3,721 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 2,266 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,926 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,161,000 after purchasing an additional 7,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Up 0.9 %

Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $2.69 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $303.26. 1,366,346 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,718,468. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $311.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.79. The business's 50-day moving average price is $297.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 82.36%. On average, research analysts expect that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADP has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $291.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,781,200. The trade was a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock worth $12,604,872 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.