Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,784 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,785 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $10,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AMG National Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 11,334 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Automatic Data Processing by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $2.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $301.57. 517,726 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,668,378. The firm has a market cap of $122.88 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.27 and a fifty-two week high of $322.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.72.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 80.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. As a group, analysts predict that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ADP shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total value of $458,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher D'ambrosio sold 473 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.20, for a total transaction of $144,832.60. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,297 shares of company stock worth $1,307,772 in the last 90 days. 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.