Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $124.49 Million Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 425,286 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 145,690 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises approximately 1.7% of Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Automatic Data Processing worth $124,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ADP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the fourth quarter valued at about $455,993,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $396,714,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter worth $342,942,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 41,710.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,090,422 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $319,199,000 after buying an additional 1,087,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Automatic Data Processing by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,120,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $910,972,000 after purchasing an additional 449,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.03% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Automatic Data Processing

In related news, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total value of $144,832.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,112.80. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.30, for a total transaction of $704,869.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,063 shares in the company, valued at $929,007.90. This trade represents a 43.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,893. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded down $3.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $298.06. 1,762,325 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,673,719. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $297.93. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $322.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Automatic Data Processing Company 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.