Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,250 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 950 shares during the quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $2,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Essex Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Automatic Data Processing by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 43,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,837,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Sagace Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $327,000. Finally, Burney Co. grew its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 11,605 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,397,000 after buying an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ADP traded up $2.86 during trading on Thursday, reaching $296.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,667,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,641,862. The company has a fifty day moving average of $298.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.12. Automatic Data Processing had a return on equity of 82.36% and a net margin of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 65.74%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sreenivasa Kutam sold 38,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $11,692,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,781,200. This represents a 54.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,129 shares of company stock valued at $12,604,872 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ADP shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $267.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.91.

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.