Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,353 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,118 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $16,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 80.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.18.

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Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock opened at $294.18 on Thursday. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.27 and a 1 year high of $322.84. 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 company has a market capitalization of $119.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company's fifty day moving average is $302.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.33.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,077,721.04. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,951 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,074. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.

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