Albert D Mason Inc. Sells 1,462 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Albert D Mason Inc. cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,953 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,462 shares during the period. Automatic Data Processing makes up 1.9% of Albert D Mason Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Albert D Mason Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter worth $209,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $77,750,000 after acquiring an additional 15,340 shares during the period. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter worth $470,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 5.6% during the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 52,329 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,069,000 after acquiring an additional 2,781 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the third quarter valued at about $951,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADP traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $296.18. 2,405,360 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,454,451. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.27 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $297.90 and a 200 day moving average of $279.99.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on 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, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Automatic Data Processing currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.91.

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 value of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $11,692,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.