Bell Asset Management Ltd Sells 3,786 Shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Bell Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,799 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,786 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $5,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth about $708,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280,961 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $77,750,000 after purchasing an additional 15,340 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 99,299 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 529,690 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $146,581,000 after buying an additional 22,766 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Automatic Data Processing by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 667,068 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $194,117,000 after buying an additional 51,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.03% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Automatic Data Processing

In other news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.38, for a total transaction of $458,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,852.74. This represents a 11.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Foskett sold 1,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.15, for a total transaction of $305,322.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,961. This trade represents a 14.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,364 shares of company stock worth $1,613,094. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Automatic Data Processing Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Automatic Data Processing stock traded up $7.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $299.54. 2,187,994 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,671,064. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $122.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $302.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.56. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.27 and a 1-year high of $322.84.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Automatic Data Processing's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Automatic Data Processing from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Automatic Data Processing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.30.

About Automatic Data Processing

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.