Vontobel Holding Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,684 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,147 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $8,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ADP. Creative Planning grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 127,582 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,306,000 after buying an additional 3,456 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 11.1% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,518 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,257,000 after buying an additional 994 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 222.7% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,988 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares during the period. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Automatic Data Processing

In other Automatic Data Processing news, VP Jonathan S. Lehberger sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 represents a 43.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of ADP stock traded up $3.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $313.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,406,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,623. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.27 and a 52-week high of $313.72. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $297.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $127.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.79.

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, 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ADP. UBS Group boosted 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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, January 30th. Barclays upped 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Automatic Data Processing presently has a consensus 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.